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AN ADMIRAL'S LOG 

Being Continued ^eco/Iections 
of Naval Life 



By 

ROBLEY D. EVANS 

Rear- Admiral, U. S. N., Author of 
" A Sailor's Log " 




ILLUSTRATED 



New York and London 

D. Appleton and Company 

1910 



e:\s2 



Copyright, 1910, by 
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 

Copyright, 1908. 1909. I'y Be"J- B. Hampton 



PuUisJicd March, 1910 



(g;n! A^f^^l407 



J3^ 



INTRODUCTION 



When " A Sailor's Log " was published, I felt 
that I had written enough about myself. Some people 
even went so far as to say that I had written too much. 
Now that I am retired and have plenty of time on my 
hands, I have concluded, at the earnest request of my 
publishers and many other friends, to write a sequel to 
" A Sailor's Log," " An Admiral's Log," and in it re- 
late such incidents as may be of interest to the general 
public. With this in view, I will take up the story of 
my life after the Spanish War and complete it up to 
the date of my retirement from active service at the age 
of sixty-two years. 

RoBLEY D. Evans. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTEK , PAGE 

I. — The Sampson-Schley controversy . . . . i 
The court of inquiry — The opinion of the court — Action of 
Secretary of the Navy — An unfortunate controversy. 

II. — Ordered to the Island of Samoa .... 8 
On court-martial duty — Pago Pago — ^The natives of Samoa 
— A war dance — The court-martial. 

III. — Collecting information at Honolulu ... 19 
Labour conditions — Pearl Harbour — Report to the Presi- 
dent. 

IV. — The visit of Prince Henry of Prussia ... 26 

Arranging for Prince's visit — A special-service squadron — 
Arrival of Prince Henry — Reception by German societies 
— The Prince at Washington — Launching of the Meteor — 
Visits and receptions in New York. 

V. — Prince Henry in the West 41 

On the Prince's train — Arrival at St. Louis — At Chattanooga 
— Southern hospitality — In Chicago — Passing the danger 
point — The ball at Chicago — Reception at Milwaukee. 

VI. — Prince Henry at Niagara Falls . . . -57 
Visit to power house — A Canadian welcome. 

VII. — Prince Henry in Boston 60 

At Harvard — Reception at the State House — A Boston ban- 
quet — An American hostess. 

VIII. — Prince Henry bids farewell to America . . 66 
Entertainment at New York — At the University Club — With 
the Captains of Industry — A New York private dinner — In 
Philadelphia — At Annapolis — At West Point — Results of 
Prince Henry's visit — Prince Henry's farewell. 

vii 



Contents 

CHAPTER PAGE 

IX. — Ordered to the Asiatic fleet 80 

Chairman of Lighthouse Board — Conditions in the East — 
On the way to Japan — An English passenger ship — The 
English Naval Reserve — Lunch with Prince David — 
Hawaiian fruits — A commodore of the old days — A good 
swimmer. 

X. — In Japan 99 

Arrival at Yokohama — Coast defences — Assume command 
— The Emperor of Japan — The Empress of Japan — Lunch- 
eon with Baron Yamamoto — The President's instructions. 

XI. — The German naval station in China . . 113 

Naval bases in China — Germany's concession — The Ger- 
mans at Tsingtao — German naval methods. 

XII. — Target practice at Chefoo 123 

Target practice — In the old way — Early torpedo practice — 
Smokeless powder — The ping-pong machine — Results of 
firing — Captain Sah — A wonderful shot. 

XIII. — Summer headquarters in China .... 140 

The Kentucky at Chefoo — China Inland Mission School — 
Medical examinations — Instructions for target practice. 

XrV. — An inspection tour 153 

Newchwang — Inspecting the Monocacy — Telescope Sights 
—At Port Arthur — Russian opinion of Japan — A visionary 
scheme. 

XV. — In Northern Asia 163 

The Emperor of Korea — An imperial luncheon — Through 
the Straits of Korea — At Vladivostock — Dinner with the 
Russian admiral — Japanese preparations for war — Jap- 
anese thoroughness. 

XVI.— Up the Yangtze River 178 

At Wusung — On the Yangtze — ^The Mississippi of the 
East — At Wuchang — Viceroy Cheng-Chi-Tung — At Nan- 
king — American-China Development Co. — The Canton- 
Hankow railway. 

XVII. — In command of the Asutic station . . .195 
Order for torpedo practice — Order for dinner uniform — 
Island of Formosa — At Canton — From Hong Kong to 
Manila — With Governor Taft — Tactical work. 

viii 



Contents 

CHAPTZS PAGE 

XVIII. — Practice drills at Subig Ba\ 210 

Mines and countermines — Fleet movements — Torpedo- 
boat tests — Coast siurvey — Trouble with Moros — Distrust 
of the Filipinos — Dislike of Americans. 

XIX. — The southern islands of the Philippines . . 224 
Annoyances from customs people — The Philippine mango 
— At Malabang — At Fort Vickars — The Moro problem — 
In the Sulu country — Tawi-Tawi Islands. 

XX. — From Singapore to Tientsin 239 

In British North Borneo — A Russian squadron in Japan — 
At Singapore — A visit to Kioto — Off the Taku bar — At 
Tientsin — German troops in China. 

XXI. — Audience with the Empress Dowager . . -252 
Visit to Pekin — During the siege of Pekin — The looting at 
Pekin — ^The Empress Dowager of China — Interview with 
Empress Dowager — A dinner at Pekin — New treaty ports 
— Evacuation of Chinese ports. 

XXII.— A SUMMER AT ChEFOO 268 

Defences of Port Arthur — OfBcers' wives — A typhoon — 
Gifts from the Empress Dowager — Trouble at Poyang 
Lake — Authority for action — German consideration — Un- 
expected orders — Hunting ducks in Japan — A royal feast. 

XXIII.— Ordered to Honolulu 286 

A heavy sea — Difficulty with the collector — Immigration 
commissioner interferes — Return to Manila — Wakes 
Island — Inhabitants of Guam. 

XXIV.— From Hong Kong to New York . . . -299 
Importance of Olongapo — Russian activities at New- 
chwang — Japan begins war — Homeward bound — In 
Ceylon — Arrival at Naples — A visit from the King of 
Italy — ^Home again. 

XXV. — In command of North Atlantic Squadron . . 316 
Another sea command — Arrival at Pensacola — An un- 
satisfactory station — New gun sights — Departure from 
Pensacola — Question of ship repairs — At Culebra — 
Christmas in the West Indies — Small-arm target prac- 
tice — Seeking a new target range — An excellent range — 
The Guantanamo reservation — Culebra and Guantanamo. 

ix 



Contents 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XXVI. — The summer work of the North Atlantic 

Squadron 342 

Discouraging work — Enlistment in the navy — Cape Cod 
Bay — Recreation on Sunday — Over-zealous Christians — 
Escorting squadron from France — ^Two admirals' flags — 
An international entertainment — Prince Louis in New 
York — The Battenberg cup. 

XXVII.— In the West Indies 363 

A very successful regatta — Earthquake at Kingston — 
Admiral Davis in Jamaica — Governor Swettenham — Im- 
provement in target practice — A deplorable accident. 

XXVIII. — At the Jamestown Exposition . . . .375 
At Cape Cod Bay — The President's visit — President 
dines with crew — The Jamestown Exposition — Arrival 
of foreign ships — The opening — Continuous entertain- 
ments — Duke of Abruzzi's reception — A welcome relief. 

XXIX. — Preparing for the Pacific cruise . . . 392 
Mr. Metcalf 's announcement — Oyster Bay conference — 
Preparations for the Pacific — ^Target practice described 
— Fire control — Navy-yard conditions — The food ques- 
tion — Supplies for the ships — The repair ship. 

XXX. — ^The departure for the Pacific . . . .411 
The President's good-bye — The start for the Pacific — 
Christmas at Port-of-Spain — Crossing the "Line" — 
King Neptune on board — The firemen of the fleet — 
Foolish stories. 

XXXI. — Around South America 427 

Arrival at Rio de Janeiro — Arrangements for shore 
leave — Departure from Rio — Greetings from the Ar- 
gentine fleet — In the Straits of Magellan — At Punta 
Arenas — On the Pacific — Reviewed by President of 
Chile— At Callao, Peru. 

XXXII. — On the Pacific Coast 441 

At Magdalena Bay — Arrangement for San Francisco — 
In Southern California — In San Francisco. 

XXXIII. — On the retired list 450 

The President's congratulations — The enthusiasm of 
the West — ^Trade problems of the Pacific — August 18, 
1909. 

X 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



FACING 
PAGE 

Rear- Admiral Robley D. Evans Frontispiece 

Prince Henry of Prussia with Admiral Evans, on his tour through 

the United States 48 

Commodore C. P. Sah, Imperial Chinese Navy .... 136 

At Ichang, China 184 

Party attending funeral ceremonies of Lui-Kun-Yu, Viceroy of 

the Province of Nanking 190 

United States Fleet at Honolulu 292 

Commanders of the Pacific Fleet with President Roosevelt . 412 

The Pacific Fleet entering the harbour of San Francisco . 448 



AN ADMIRAL'S LOG 



CHAPTER I 

THE SAMPSON-SCHLEY CONTROVERSY 

After the Spanish War, when the North Atlantic 
Squadron went to New York and was reviewed in the 
harbour there, the press and the people of the country- 
seemed well pleased with what we had done, and gave 
us unstinted praise. Great courtesy was shown both 
officers and men whenever they went on shore; but 
after a short time this condition began to change and 
soon there was a bitter paper war raging all over the 
country, as to whether Sampson or Schley was entitled 
to the credit for winning the battle fought off Santiago, 
July 3, 1898. The officers and men of the navy were 
practically a unit in favour of Sampson; but a majority 
of the newspapers favoured Schley. The discussion was 
carried into the halls of Congress when the President 
asked promotion for certain officers of the fleet, and, 
once there, it soon developed a political phase which 
eventually prevented any advancement for either of 
the flag officers interested. The captains, executive 
officers, and chief engineers of the ships engaged were 
advanced a few numbers, and there the matter rested 
for a time. 

Mr. Maclay, a writer on naval history who has 

I 



An Admiral's Log 

prepared several text-books for the Naval Academy, 
wrote an account of the battle of Santiago in which he 
used most violent and abusive language regarding 
Schley. Muck-raking and mud-slinging had been 
pretty general in the press all over the country, and 
every officer and man in the fight had been more or less 
bespattered by one side or the other; but this attack on 
Schley was more personal and vicious than anything 
that had preceded it, and there was little surprise when 
the commodore made it the ground of official com- 
plaint, and demanded that a court of his brother offi- 
cers be ordered to inquire into his conduct during the 
campaign in the West Indies. 

A court of inquiry was accordingly ordered to meet 
at the Washington Navy Yard, and, after two officers 
had been relieved at the request of Commodore Schley, 
was composed as follows : Admiral Dewey, Admiral 
Bentham, and Admiral Ramsay, with Captain S. C. 
Lemly, Judge-Advocate General of the Navy, as re- 
corder. Commodore Schley was defended by counsel 
of recognised legal ability. The sessions of the court 
were held in a large room in one of the shops of the 
navy yard, were open to the public, and as a rule were 
attended by crowds of people, mostly women and news- 
paper correspondents. Every officer and man who 
could throw any light on the subject before the court, 
was summoned, examined, and cross-examined. The 
daily papers were filled with the evidence and the com- 
ments of those who were interested in making it appear 
to the advantage of one side or the other, until every 
one was thoroughly sick, I think, of the mud-slinging 
affair. 

2 



The Opinion of the Court 

My sympathies were well known to be on the side 
of Admiral Sampson, for I made no effort to conceal 
them; but I was often surprised at the way I was 
abused in the newspapers for the things I had not said 
or done, as well as for those I had ; and I am sure that 
my experience was exactly that of many other officers. 
It was a washing of navy linen in public, the like of 
which had never before been seen, certainly not in my 
time. 

After sitting several months and hearing much evi- 
dence, the inquiry was concluded. The opinion of the 
court was as follows : 



Opinion 

" Commodore Schley, in command of the Flying 
Squadron, should have proceeded with utmost de- 
spatch off Cienfuegos, and should have maintained a 
:lose blockade of that port. 

" He should have endeavoured on May 23d, at Cien- 
fuegos, to obtain information regarding the Spanish 
squadron by communicating with the insurgents at the 
place designated in the memorandum delivered to him 
at 8.15 A.M. of that date. 

" He should have proceeded from Cienfuegos to 
Santiago de Cuba with all despatch, and should have 
disposed his vessels with a view of intercepting the 
enemy in any attempt to pass the Flying Squadron. 

" He should not have delayed the squadron for the 
Eagle. 

" He should not have made the retrograde turn 
westward with his squadron. 

" He should have promptly obeyed the Navy De- 
partment's order of May 25th. 

" He should have endeavoured to capture or destroy 



An Admiral's Log 

the Spanish vessels at anchor near the entrance of San- 
tiago Harbour on May 29th and 30th. 

" He did not do his utmost with the force under 
his command to capture or destroy the Colon and 
other vessels of the enemy which he attacked on May 
31st. 

" By commencing the engagement on July 3d with 
the port battery and turning the Brooklyn around with 
port helm, Commodore Schley caused her to lose dis- 
tance and position with the Spanish vessels, especially 
with the Vizcaya and Colon, 

** The turn of the Brooklyn to starboard was made 
to avoid getting her into dangerous proximity to the 
Spanish vessels. The turn was made toward the Texas, 
and caused that vessel to stop and to back her engines 
to avoid possible collision. 

" Admiral Schley did injustice to Lieutenant-Com- 
mander A. C. Hodgson in publishing only a portion of 
the correspondence which passed between them. 

" Commodore Schley's conduct in connection with 
the events of the Santiago campaign prior to June i, 
1898, was characterised by vacillation, dilatoriness, and 
lack of enterprise. 

" His official reports regarding the coal supply and 
the coaling facilities of the Flying Squadron were inac- 
curate and misleading. 

" His conduct during the battle of July 3d was self- 
possessed, and he encouraged, in his own person, his 
subordinate officers and men to fight courageously." 

To this opinion of the court Admiral Dewey added 
his own opinion, as follows: 

" Commodore Schley was the senior officer of our 
squadron off Santiago when the Spanish squadron 
attempted to escape on the morning of July 3, 1898. 
He was in absolute command, and is entitled to the 



Action of Secretary of the Navy 

credit due to such commanding officer for the glorious 
victory which resulted in the total destruction of the 
Spanish ships." 

Recommendation 

" In view of the length of time which has elapsed 
since the occurrence of the events of the Santiago cam- 
paign, the court recommends no further proceedings be 
had in the premises." 

The Secretary of the Navy, in approving the find- 
ings of fact and opinion of the full court, remarks as 
follows : 



"As to the points on which the presiding member 
differs from the opinion of the majority of the court, 
the opinion of the majority is approved. 

" As to the further expression of his views by the 
same member, with regard to the questions of com- 
mand on the morning of July 3, 1898, and of the title 
to credit for the ensuing victory, the conduct of the court 
in making no finding and rendering no opinion on those 
questions is approved — indeed, it could with propriety 
take no other course, evidence on these questions dur- 
ing the inquiry having been excluded by the court." 

This opinion of the Secretary of the Navy — indeed, 
the whole finding of the court — met with the approval 
of the officers of the navy as a body. Commodore 
Schley and his legal adviser did all in their power to 
induce the President to place his disapproval on these 
proceedings; but they failed completely, and he finally 
approved them. The press of the country for many 
months continued its abuse of the one side or the other, 
and Congress failed to do anything for the promotion 

3 5 



An Admiral's Log 

of either of the flag officers interested. Admiral Samp- 
son died without the least recognition or reward from 
the country for the splendid campaign he had fought. 
In common with those of us who stood by him, he 
received unstinted abuse from many newspapers, whose 
editors showed their courage by abusing officers by 
name without disclosing their own identity. But the 
newspapers were not the only offenders. One has only 
to read the debates in Congress to see how senators and 
representatives showed their gallantry by attacking offi- 
cers by name, knowing full well that these same offi- 
cers could not in any way reply to them. 

Worse even than these thrusts from Congress and 
the press were the letters of creatures calling themselves 
men, dirty blackguards who wrote to Mrs. Sampson 
even after the death of her gallant husband to tell her 
in vile terms what they thought of him. Great num- 
bers of these letters came to me and other friends, and 
upon us men they made no impression except that of 
disgust for their writers; but when we learned the num- 
ber and character of those sent to that lady, we were 
shocked and disappointed that that number of Ameri- 
can men could so disgrace their manhood. 

As a direct result of this unfortunate controversy, 
the service at large suffered greatly. The position of 
vice-admiral, to which Admiral Sampson was entitled, 
and to which President McKinley asked Congress to 
advance him, has remained vacant to this day. Cer- 
tainly the navy, as a service, was entitled to this recog- 
nition, and if Sampson was not the man for it, then 
some other deserving flag officer should have been 
selected and promoted. The corresponding rank in the 

6 



An Unfortunate Controversy 

army was promptly filled, and many officers of that 
service have been retired with the rank of lieutenant- 
general, which corresponds with vice-admiral in the 
navy. It cannot be justly claimed that officers of the 
army did more brilliant or valuable service during the 
Spanish War than did those of the navy, and, if their 
promotion be placed on the ground of service in the 
Civil War, I think we may fairly claim that Sampson, 
Schley, Philip, Higginson, and many others were quite 
as prominent in that war as were the officers of the 
army who have been advanced to the grade of lieuten- 
ant-general and retired with that rank. The only ex- 
planation which seems to explain is that the army is 
more fortunate in its congressional committees than is 
the navy. We congratulate our brother officers of the 
army on their well-deserved promotions; but we feel 
at the same time that we have not been justly treated, 
and all because of a newspaper war inaugurated and 
fought out as a matter of spite against one of the ablest 
officers the navy has ever produced. 



CHAPTER II 

ORDERED TO THE ISLAND OF SAMOA 

One day in the month of October, 1901, I was or- 
dered to report in person to the Secretary of the Navy, 
as he wished to see me on a matter of importance. 
Upon presenting myself, I was informed that I was to 
proceed to the island of Samoa as president of a gen- 
eral court-martial to try the governor of the island on 
very serious charges of misconduct. Samoa and Guam, 
two of our island possessions, were then, and still are, 
controlled by the Navy Department through a gov- 
ernor, a naval officer, appointed by the Secretary of the 
Navy. 

The charges against the governor were not shown 
to me at the time; but the general tenor of them was 
explained. If the government could establish its case 
there could be little doubt of what the finding of the 
court would be ; but it seemed to me that the list of wit- 
nesses disclosed did not promise a conviction, and I so 
expressed myself. At the same time I warned the 
chief of the Bureau of Navigation that the government 
must be prepared to establish the fact of the misconduct 
of the governor beyond any reasonable doubt, as he was 
an officer of excellent reputation, and I felt sure the 
court, which was composed of high ranking officers, 
would require the most positive evidence before finding 

8 



On Court -Martial Duty 

him guilty. It was a matter of very considerable ex- 
pense to send so large a court so long a distance, and, 
unless the governor was actually guilty, it seemed a 
waste of money to do so. 

I asked a number of questions about the case, and 
soon became satisfied that there was something peculiar 
about the way the charges had been prepared; but the 
only real information I could get was that I was ask- 
ing too many questions, that the Navy Department had 
drawn the charges to suit itself, and that I was to pro- 
ceed as president of the court and try the case in obedi- 
ence to my orders, which were there and then handed 
to me. 

Upon leaving the Department I was much sur- 
prised to meet the governor himself face to face. He 
was one whom I had known for many years, and was 
at the time on leave from his station at Samoa. He 
informed me in a few words of his trouble, and that he 
had no idea who had reported him or the nature of the 
charges. When I informed him that I had been or- 
dered on the court to try him, of course, he said noth- 
ing more about his case, and I did not see him again 
until he was arraigned before the court at Samoa. 

The day following my orders to this unpleasant 
duty, the President sent for me to come to the White 
House and there detailed to me certain information he 
required about matters in Honolulu. He directed me 
to stop over a couple of weeks at the Sandwich Islands 
on my way back from Samoa, and on my return to 
Washington to report to him fully on the points he 
indicated, and also to collect for him, while in Hono- 
lulu, the information he desired. He felt, and I agreed 

9 



An Admiral's Log 

with him, that as a naval officer on important court- 
martial duty I could do what he wanted done without 
causing comment or excitement. It was only necessary 
to use ordinary common sense and to keep my eyes 
open, and I felt competent to do both. Honolulu was 
a long way from Washington, and it seemed most diffi- 
cult for the President to get the facts he wanted un- 
coloured by party prejudice. 

In order that we might reach our destination with 
some degree of comfort, the Navy Department ordered 
the naval transport Solace to be in readiness in San 
Francisco to receive the court. She was about making 
one of her regular trips to Manila, and after landing us 
at Samoa she was to continue on her way, leaving us 
to make our way back as best we could. The impor- 
tant thing in the eyes of the Department was the trial 
and conviction of the governor of Samoa, and after 
they had done that the court could wander about the 
South Sea Islands endlessly, as far as any transporta- 
tion home by the Navy Department was indicated. 

When the court reported on board the Solace at 
San Francisco, it was apparent to all that the case was 
considered a most important one, as was shown by 
the number of high ranking officers composing the 
court. Our luggage was soon stowed, and we were 
promptly off to sea. All possible care was taken for 
our comfort, and after a pleasant run of seven days, 
during which time the Solace showed us what real roll- 
ing meant, we arrived at Honolulu. Here we remained 
two days discharging freight and fighting mosquitoes, 
and then willingly went on our way. 

The run down to Samoa was uneventful, the 

ID 



Pago Pago 

weather fine, and the sea Hke an inland lake. As we 
approached the island, the rain set in and continued 
with little intermission until we were again clear of the 
land on our way back to Honolulu. The entrance to 
the harbour of Pago Pago is very beautiful, entirely 
tropical in appearance, and well suited for defensive bat- 
teries, which one would expect to find, as the harbour 
contains an expensive coaling station on which the Navy 
Department places a high value. Some distance from 
the land is found the usual atoll, or coral reef, so com- 
mon in the South Seas, and through this by a wide 
opening one reaches the channel, leading in between 
bold headlands to the port. The harbour is made by the 
crater of an extinct volcano, is small, perfectly pro- 
tected, and very beautiful. The high lands, or moun- 
tains, surrounding the harbour are very bold and abrupt, 
and densely covered with tropical vegetation. Only 
one or two trails pass over them, and there are no roads 
fit for wheeled vehicles of any sort, which is not impor- 
tant, as there are no such things. All travelling is on 
foot, and usually the feet are bare, as any kind of foot- 
gear would stand little chance in the stiff, sticky mud 
which always covers the ground. In the rainy season 
it rains all the time, and in the dry season only four or 
five times a day. The Rainmaker, one of the bold, 
rugged mountains in front of the village, always gives 
warning of a coming shower. At such times a mist, 
more or less dense, always covers the top of the moun- 
tain; hence, its name. 

When we arrived we found the admiral, com- 
mander-in-chief of the Pacific Fleet, in port on board 
his flagship, the battleship Wisconsin. The court was 

II 



An Admiral's Log 

promptly organised, and received from the admiral the 
charges prepared by tlie Navy Department, to which he 
had, as directed, added one or two. As president of the 
court, I took the liberty of suggesting to him, as I 
had the right to do, that he withdraw the charges he 
had himself prepared, as I was satisfied after reading 
them that there was no evidence to sustain them. He 
declined to do this, and they were presented to the court 
exactly as they had been drawn. The court adjourned 
for three days to allow the defence time to prepare their 
case, and the members took advantage of this time to 
see what they could of this far-away possession of ours 
and its inhabitants. 

I found the people without exception the handsom- 
est physical specimens I had ever seen. Owing to 
their isolated geographical position, they had escaped 
entirely the loathsome diseases that are so common in 
most seaports. Their skins were of a beautiful bronze 
colour, and their muscular development wonderfully 
perfect. They had no scars or blemishes, except now 
and then the mark of a bolo cut or thrust, and they 
moved with the graceful motion common to highly 
trained athletes. They were, indeed, veritable living 
bronze statues, and very much alive at that. 

The only practicable means of communication be- 
tween the different villages on the island, of which there 
were a dozen or more, was by boats, and the people, 
men, women, and children, were, as a rule, good sailors, 
and their boats were well fitted for the hard weather 
they had to encounter. A few trails led about over the 
mountains ; but on account of the mud these were only 
used when a water route was impracticable. A plan 

12 



The Natives of Samoa 

had been completed by the governor and his staff for a 
road along the seashore, more, I imagine, to give a 
place for exercise than for any practical use. 

When we assumed charge of these people, or it may 
be a short time before, the idea of clothing them prop- 
erly, according to the notions of the missionaries, was 
advanced, and soon bore its legitimate fruit. In the 
climate in which they lived their own clothing, which 
consisted of a good coat of palm oil and a waist-clout, 
was an admirable protection, but this could not be tol- 
erated for a moment in the face of our civilised habits, 
and the poor natives were clapped into woven dresses 
for the women and cheap shop clothes for the men. 
These clothes, wet always from force of surrounding 
weather conditions, soon brought pneumonia and kin- 
dred diseases, and many lives were sacrificed. I was 
amused to watch the people who came down to the 
dock every day for a swim. They came in great num- 
bers, and all properly dressed, but when they reached 
the dock they would carefully take off their wet, gaudy- 
looking clothes, dive into the water, swim about like 
fishes, and then climb out onto the dock and, having 
replaced their wet clothing, go quietly about their busi- 
ness. It seemed to me that we had not done much real 
good to these excellent people by forcing upon them 
our ideas as to dress. Many thousands had died from 
eruptive diseases, principally measles and small-pox, 
and it was pathetic to see their dread of these disorders. 
Vaccination had, in a measure, removed one danger; 
but the other was a constant terror to these simple 
people. 

For food they relied on tropical fruits and such fish 

13 



An Admiral's Log 

as they could secure. Meat was practically out of 
their diet list. Yams and sweet potatoes were in 
plenty, and yams and bananas were always at hand. 
Pineapples, the finest I have ever seen anywhere in the 
world, grew wild all over the island. Some were sent 
me that weighed twenty-five pounds each, and the fla- 
vour was equal to the best pine grown in Singapore. 
The water supply was ample and its quality excellent, 
so there was no good reason why any one should be 
sick. 

On one of our off days, Hunger, the head chief, 
gave us a reception, which I am sure was thoroughly 
enjoyed by every member of the court. The natives of 
the nearby villages had been invited to come in to see 
the distinguished Americans, and they came to the 
number of 800 or 1,000. We were assembled on the 
porch of one of the small government frame houses, 
out of the reach of the rain, which fell at times in tor- 
rents, and as the natives passed they deposited their 
simple gifts at our feet. Some gave a few eggs, others 
gave a live chicken, but most of them gave fruit or 
cocoanuts. Soon many hundreds of cocoanuts just off 
the trees were piled up; and it was most interesting 
to see the young men with their heavy, wicked-looking 
knives make three cuts at a cocoanut and then hand it 
to one to drink. In every case the three cuts were so 
accurately made that a small triangular piece of the 
shell was taken out, so that one could drink the milk 
without the least trouble or inconvenience. This milk 
was cool and most refreshing and wholesome. 

Some of the native women had, in the meantime, 
prepared for us a native drink which was known as 

14 



A War Dance 

cava cava. Formerly this drink was prepared by 
young women, who chewed strips of the root of the 
cava plant and deposited the macerated pulp in a 
wooden bowl, known as a cava bowl, where it was 
allowed to ferment for a certain time. Then the juice, 
which was more or less intoxicating-, was ready for 
use. In our case, the chewing part of the preparation 
was dispensed with, and the beverage was produced by 
rubbing the cava roots in a bowl and adding water. 
When tasted, it proved to be an acrid, bitter-tasting 
drink, nothing like as pleasant as the cocoanut milk. 
As to its alcoholic properties, none of us drank enough 
to be able to give an opinion. 

When all the natives were assembled, the chief gave 
us an exhibition of a war dance or drill, and it was 
exceedingly interesting. The warriors were in their 
native attire of palm oil and armed with very heavy, 
businesslike-looking knives; but in no case were fire- 
arms of any kind used. Various movements were exe- 
cuted, in every case accompanied by the beating of 
many drums, and finally a charge was ordered in which 
the warriors, plainly under a very strong excitement, 
indicated how the heads of their enemies would be 
made to part company with their bodies. When this 
show was ended, we were treated to a native dance, 
and then a very unusual and unlooked-for thing hap- 
pened. 

The governor who was about to be tried was very 
popular with the natives, who looked upon him as their 
" White Father." Since our arrival he had, of course, 
been under arrest, and could not be seen by any one. 
Somehow the impression had got abroad that we were 

15 



An Admirars Log* 

going to take him away from them. This did not in 
the least meet with their approval. When the native 
dance was finished, the chief and half a dozen of his 
finest men approached us with knives in their hands 
and scowls on their faces and demanded to know why 
their White Father was not among us. They said that 
all the people were unhappy and full of sorrow because 
of his absence, and they wanted to know what to say 
to them on the subject. For a few minutes it looked 
as if we might have serious trouble; but the com- 
mander-in-chief was entirely capable of handling the 
situation, and in a few well-chosen words sent the 
people on their way, satisfied that their beloved gov- 
ernor would receive kind and fair treatment. 

I had a chance a few days later to inspect some of 
the native houses, and was struck with the ingenuity 
displayed in their construction. No nails or ironwork 
of any kind were used. The native hardwood, after 
being properly seasoned, was used for all purposes — 
posts, rafters, and flooring, where the latter was desir- 
able. The roofing was thatch, which in this climate 
of constant rains had to be quite perfect. All upright 
and cross beams were pinned together and then lashed, 
and so well was this done that the buildings withstood 
the fearful hurricanes which were common about these 
islands. 

The Navy Department had authorised the enlist- 
ment of one company of marines and one boat crew 
from the natives of the island, and I am perfectly safe 
in saying that I never saw a finer looking body of men 
or a better drilled lot. Their work as soldiers would 
compare most favourably with that of the best among 

i6 



The Court -Martial 

our regular troops, and the marine sergeant who had 
charge of them was entitled to great credit for his 
work. If our government ever resorts to colonial 
troops to do some of the serious work we have ahead 
of us in the tropics, I am sure a regiment, or maybe 
two, could be quickly raised in Samoa. The advan- 
tage of using them among our " little brown brothers " 
is apparent — they could use a rifle with effect and then 
show an aptitude in the jungle with a bolo quite equal 
to that of the natives of any of the Philippine Islands. 

In due course of time the court met, the governor 
was arraigned, pleaded not guilty, and the trial began. 
The government produced three witnesses only, and of 
these two testified in favour of the accused, and the 
third, a medical expert, could not swear positively 
whether the accused was under the influence of an 
intoxicant or overcome by the heat. This closed the 
case of the prosecution, and the defence opened. The 
counsel for the defence submitted a list of some- 
thing like one hundred witnesses they wanted to 
have called, and asked that a steamer be sent to 
some of the adjoining islands for those who could 
give important testimony bearing on the case. When 
we had heard fifteen or twenty of the most im- 
portant witnesses, the court concluded the case by 
declaring the governor not guilty and most hon- 
ourably acquitting him of the charges prepared. In 
all my experience with courts-martial I have never 
known a case so weak as this one was, nor one where 
there was so little ground for charges. Upon my re- 
turn to Washington I ascertained how the whole matter 
came about. The general impression was that the 

17 



An Admiral's Log 



charges, or the complaint on which the charges were 
based, had in some way come from the missionaries, 
but this was not the case. A letter in a woman's hand- 
writing was received by the Secretary of the Navy 
reciting certain bad conduct on the part of the gov- 
ernor. The Secretary cut off the name of the writer 
and then sent the letter to the proper officers of the 
Department, with an order to prepare the charges. 
Thus, practically on an anonymous letter, the expense 
of sending this court so many thousands of miles was 
incurred, not to mention the injury to the reputation 
and feelings of the officer, who up to that time had 
enjoyed a fine reputation. 



CHAPTER III 

COLLECTING INFORMATION AT HONOLULU 

The quefjtion of getting back to Honolulu became 
an important one when the court had concluded its 
labours. Thee commander-in-chief thought of putting us 
ashore to wait two weeks for the steamer which would 
touch at Samoa on her return trip from Australia; but 
this species' of marooning was abandoned when we 
insisted on proper quarters on shore to protect us 
against the! weather, because there were no such quar- 
ters. Then it was proposed to transfer all of us to the 
flagship and let her take us back; but here again the 
question of quarters had to be considered, and this plan 
was also abandoned. In the end, it was found that the 
Solace could touch at Honolulu and land us without 
seriously interfering with her trip to Manila, and this 
was done. Our return trip was tedious but comfort- 
able. Upon arrival at Honolulu we all took rooms at 
a beautiful new hotel to wait ten days or two weeks for 
the next steamer to San Francisco, and I began at once 
to collect the information the President required. 

By spending a part of each day and night at clubs 
and other places where the business men of the city 
congregated, keeping eyes and ears open, and occa- 
sionally leading the conversation into the proper chan- 
nels by a few cautious words, I was enabled to learn 

19 



An Admiral's Log' 

much that the President wanted to know\ It was most 
important, of course, that I should get the information 
without any one suspecting my purpose, a'nd this I think 
I succeeded in doing. Many leading mi' en said after- 
wards that they had no idea how the President could 
know so much of what was going on so* far away. I 
am sure that some of those deeply intere;sted in what 
took place on the island immediately after my return 
will know for the first time, if they read tnis book, that 
I had any hand in it. \ 

One of the most important questions t|o be looked 
into was that of labour for the cane fields. Many kinds 
of labour had been tried. The Asiatic seemed to be the 
best, but the employment of this labour was not so 
simple as some people might think. The law permitted 
a certain number of males to land, but only one female 
could land for each half dozen or seven males, so that 
in many cases I found a woman with five or six so- 
called husbands. No families being possible under such 
conditions, there were no children to grow up on the 
plantations to take the places of those who died or 
returned to their native land. I visited many native 
women, who talked with me very freely and gave me 
much interesting information. I asked the same ques- 
tion of a number of them : " What kind of a man do 
you prefer for a husband, and why?" Practically all 
of them gave the same answer. First, " A Chinese, be- 
cause he is economical, never gets drunk and beats his 
wife and kills his children." Next, " A Japanese," for 
the same reasons somewhat modified. Next, " An 
American, because he is generally good to his wife; he 
never kills the children when he is drunk." And last, 

20 



Labour Conditions 

" A native Hawaiian, who does all the things the others 
do not do." 

On one of the plantations I found the following 
conditions existing. A party of Asiatics, half Jap- 
anese and half Chinese, were put at the same kind of 
labour in the cane fields. At the end of three months 
not a Japanese was left. They were all with the 
machinery in the mills and pumping stations, or else 
bosses or head men about the barracks. All the Chi- 
nese were just where they had been put, patiently weed- 
ing the cane regardless of the stifling, sweltering heat 
in which they were working — and there they will 
remain until they have saved enough from their scanty 
wages to take them back to their native land. Nothing, 
to my mind, could be more characteristic of the two 
peoples, Japanese and Chinese, than what I have stated 
above. One or two plantations tried negro labour from 
our southern states, but it was unsatisfactory for the 
reason that the man would stop work when he had done 
a certain amount, and nothing in reason would induce 
him to do more. After he had received his wages he 
wanted to rest until he had spent them — the experience 
of our own planters over again. A few plantations had 
tried imported Porto Rico labour, and, while it was 
better than our negro labour, it was not up to the 
standard of the Asiatics. 

I found the whole labour question in a most unsatis- 
factory condition, and, as far as I know, it is the same 
to-day. The native of the islands will mix to a limited 
extent with the whites, but does not furnish satisfac- 
tory labour, and is dying off. The Japanese are a very 
ambitious, warlike race, and likely to give trouble in 

3 21 



An Admirars Log 

time. Those who go to Honolulu, as a rule, are men 
who have been in the army or navy at home, and have 
served their time with the colours. They are patriotic 
and loyal to a degree, and when ordered home by the 
Emperor go without a word, no matter what personal 
sacrifice their going may entail. They do not mix with 
the white race and do not become citizens of the coun- 
try. Therefore, it seems to me that their presence in 
large numbers is not desirable. The people of Cali- 
fornia and other western states tried Chinese labour, 
gave it up because it was too cheap and too good, 
turned to the Japanese, and are to-day bitterly regret- 
ting the change. 

Sugar making is the leading industry of Hawaii 
and apparently always will remain so. Many of the 
plantations and mills have been capitalised at a figure 
that necessitates small dividends to the shareholders. 
To produce even these dividends, the strictest economy 
has to be practised, and the price of labour is naturally 
an important consideration. The cultivation of the 
cane fields on scientific principles by the use of steam 
ploughs and the best mechanical cultivators and labour- 
saving devices will, in the end, settle this troublesome 
question. The constant and urgent demands for more 
dividends mean a struggle that will result in the sur- 
vival of the fittest, not only among machines and man- 
agers, but also with respect to labour. 

During the two weeks we were detained at Hono- 
lulu we had a fair chance to study the habits of the 
mosquito. These pests had only been known in the 
islands about thirty years, and the way they came was 
interesting, A whaler from New Bedford on arriving 

22 



Pearl Harbour 

at Honolulu sent his water casks on shore to be refilled, 
and unfortunately one of them contained not only a 
small quantity of water, but a large quantity of mosqui- 
toes. When this water was poured out preparatory to 
refilling, the mosquitoes escaped, and soon infested the 
whole island. Although we used the very best mos- 
quito bars, we were made most uncomfortable, partic- 
ularly during the night when sleep was almost impos- 
sible. 

Our steamer came in time, and we left the beautiful 
island with regret. We had come to know many of the 
warm-hearted, hospitable people, with whom it was a 
pleasure to associate, and I for one would have gladly 
prolonged my visit. 

Before leaving I inspected Pearl Harbour, the site 
selected for our naval station, and found it in some 
respects ideal for the purpose. The sheet of water is 
ample and well located for such a station, but the ques- 
tion of defending it after it was built presented serious 
difficulties. The absence of high land, on which to 
locate suitable batteries to command the sea and keep 
an enemy's fleet at a safe distance, was the hardest one 
to overcome. But this whole question of the defence 
of these islands is a most difficult one, and I am puzzled 
to understand how any one, particularly a professional 
man, can consider them anything but a source of weak- 
ness to us in case of war with any naval power in the 
Pacific. Honolulu is fed once a week by a steamer 
from San Francisco. Enough rice can possibly be 
grown on the island to meet the demands of those who 
eat rice, and the same may be said of fruit, but in 
other respects the islands are not self-sustaining. In 

23 



An Admiral's Log 

case of war it will require 50,000 men at least for a 
proper defence, and all these, with others visiting here, 
must be fed from the California coast. This would 
require a large fleet of store ships, and they, in turn, 
would require a naval force strong enough to protect 
them over the 2,200 miles they would have to sail. 
With a determined enemy, this would mean all the 
ships we could assemble in the Pacific. Some so-called 
experts contend that these islands in the hands of an 
enemy would be a source of danger to the Pacific 
coast. I wonder if they would hold that an island two 
hundred miles off the coast of England would be a 
threat to our eastern coast? The distance for the 
enemy to reach us would be exactly the same. 

Let us grant that Honolulu and Pearl Harbour have 
some value as coaling and repair stations, how can we 
defend the acquisition and retention of Samoa? What 
possible value has the place now, or can it have in the 
future? We maintain a certain small quantity of coal 
at Pago Pago which, being undefended by a single 
gun, could be captured by an enemy at his pleasure. 

The craze for securing coaling stations in all sorts 
of out-of-the-way places which at one time seemed to 
possess the Navy Department led us into many costly 
errors, I think. Other nations did the same, and many 
of them are only now awake to the fact that coal for 
naval purposes must be carried with the fleet, or else 
be so perfectly protected that an enemy cannot hope to 
capture it. 

Upon my return to Washington, about the middle 
of December, I reported to the President, and, as he 
was too busy to hear my report at that time, he invited 

24 



Report to the President 

me to dine with him and the members of his Cabinet 
when he would have more leisure. Accordingly, at the 
time appointed I presented myself, and after the dinner 
was over the company retired to a smoking room 
where, cigars having been served, I was invited to 
make my report. This I did briefly, but at the same 
time stating all the important facts of which I had 
knowledge. 

A few days later one of the leading men of Hono- 
lulu, a graduate of Yale, I think, and a descendant of 
one of the old missionary families of the islands, whose 
father had represented Hawaii for many years in 
Washington, was summoned to the White House. I 
met him when he arrived in the city, and was amused 
at his anxiety to know why he had been sent for. He 
was immediately appointed governor of the islands, and 
served many years in that capacity, much to the benefit 
of all concerned except himself. His law business nec- 
essarily suffered severely, but then he had the satisfac- 
tion of doing his duty to his country, which is all many 
of us have to show after a lifetime spent in the service. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE VISIT OF PRINCE HENRY OF PRUSSIA 

In January, 1902, it was announced that Prince 
Henry of Prussia, brother of his Imperial Majesty 
Emperor William, would visit the United States to wit- 
ness the launching of a sailing yacht which was "being 
built for him at Shelter Island, near New York city. 
A few days later I was informed by the Secretary of 
the Navy that I was detailed as a personal escort on 
the staff of the Prince, and that this detail was at the 
request of the Emperor conveyed through the German 
ambassador. Naturally I was much pleased at the 
compliment, and felt that it was the result of my visit 
to Kiel, in command of the New York, on the occasion 
of the opening of the Kiel Canal. 

The President directed that a board of officers be 
assembled to take the whole matter of the reception and 
entertainment of the Prince in hand. This board con- 
sisted of the Assistant Secretary of State, Dr. Hill, 
General Corbin and Colonel Bingham of the army, 
Captain Cowles, brother-in-law to the President, and 
myself. With the assistance of the German ambassa- 
dor, who was very nervous over the whole matter, we 
determined the places the Prince could visit. He 
wanted to see the whole country, but we could only 
arrange for him a trip that would consume all the time 

26 



Arranging for Prince's Visit 

at his disposal to the best advantage. When we had 
held one meeting, it was plain that many people would 
be disappointed, for we were flooded with letters and 
telegrams from all parts of the country, and these were 
reinforced by personal applications from senators and 
representatives in Congress, which was at that time in 
session. 

Mr. Boyd, the able representative of the Pennsylva- 
nia Railroad, was called in after the bid of his road 
had been accepted, and the details for the train were 
worked out. A train of nine cars was decided upon as 
necessary for the care and comfort of the party, and I 
am safe in saying that it was the finest train ever seen 
on this continent or, I believe, anywhere in the world. 
Many of the German officers composing the suite of 
the Prince so expressed themselves. For all the com- 
fort and luxury of the trip we were indebted to Mr. 
Boyd, whose absolute knowledge of his business en- 
abled him to run the train on time to a second, and to 
feed us in a way that would shame many first-class 
hotels in New York. We were never one second late 
at any point, and we never failed of an excellent meal 
at the minute set for it. Add to this that our baggage 
— and there was a lot of it — was always in our rooms 
at the hotels when we arrived, and one can form some 
idea of what Mr. Boyd had to do. If I can judge of 
the Prince's feelings by what he said and the presents 
he gave, I am confident he appreciated this fine speci- 
men of our railroad men. 

The President was anxious above all things for the 
personal safety of Prince Henry, and to ensure it he 
put me in touch with Chief Wilkie of the Secret Serv- 

27 



An Admiral's Log 

ice of the Treasury Department, who had the means, 
if any one in the world had, to properly guard our royal 
guest. The German ambassador was most anxious at 
all times, but I did not share this anxiety, for I saw no 
reason for it. I did not believe that any considerable 
number of people wanted to mjure or offend a guest 
of the United States. However, it was not a question 
of what I, or any one else, thought. It was to carry out 
the orders of the President and leave nothing undone, 
in order that the Prince should be protected from injury 
or insult. 

Chief Wilkie worked with energy and perfect sys- 
tem, and before many days had passed every anarchist 
of much importance was under observation. Each one 
had a friend w^ho observed him carefully; in some 
special cases these friends even went so far as to dine 
with the objectionable people and then accompany them 
to the theatre or some other place of amusement. In 
this way we very soon knew what the most prominent 
anarchists were doing, saying, and thinking. So com- 
plete was the system by which all this was done that 
Wilkie felt confident that he would know in advance if 
any mischief was contemplated ; and yet I am sure only 
three men knew what was going on. 

The only case that really threatened to give serious 
trouble was that of a doctor in New York who had 
prepared and printed a most villainous attack on the 
Prince. The pamphlet containing this attack was a 
very innocent-looking document with a flattering 
notice of the Prince on the cover which would have 
caused one to read the contents. Wilkie secured one 
of the advance copies, and the entire edition of 25,000 

28 



A Special-Service Squadron 

copies was burned before the ink was dry. The author 
was not at liberty to do harm in any other direction 
until the royal guest and his party had left the United 
States. Many of the more violent among the an- 
a^rchists were locked up, and found habeas corpus pro- 
ceedings so slow that they only regained their liberty 
when it was too late for them to do any harm. I was 
very near Prince Henry night and day during the 
entire time he was in the country, and if anything had 
been done to offend or annoy him I am sure I should 
have heard or seen it ; but nothing of the kind occurred. 
I am sure Chief Wilkie and his able assistants, who 
were constantly with us, would testify to the same 
effect. Men and women were, as a rule, deferential, 
polite, and respectful, but the irrepressible American 
gamin could not always be controlled, and he some- 
times called out, " Hello, Henry, come out and have 
a beer! " or amused himself in the middle of the night 
by rattling the side of the sleeper with a stick. 

Prince Henry was a man with sufficient experience 
to give these demonstrations their correct value, and 
he must have felt from the first how completely the 
people of the United States were with him in feeling. 
If he ever felt the least annoyance over any incident of 
his visit, I am sure I should have known it, for my 
relations with him were of the most intimate and confi- 
dential nature. 

Before the arrival of Prince Henry, the Navy De- 
partment ordered a special-service squadron of three 
cruisers and a battleship to assemble off Tompkins- 
ville, under my command, to extend proper courtesies 
to him when he came. The battleship Illinois was as- 

29 



An Admiral's Log 

signed as my flagship. Captain Converse, who has 
since died as a rear-admiral after a most distinguished 
and useful career, commanded the Illinois, and had his 
ship in most perfect condition, and later on it was a 
source of great pleasure to show the Prince and his 
officers every part of her, from double bottoms to mili- 
tary tops. 

About one week before the Prince was due, the 
Emperor's yacht, the Hohenzollern, in command of 
Captain Count Baudissin of the Imperial German Navy, 
arrived in New York harbour and was berthed in a con- 
venient slip in the North river. Owing to the small 
amount of coal she could carry, she had been com- 
pelled to come by way of the Azores and St. Thomas. 
Once in her berth, she furnished, as it was intended 
she should do, royal quarters for the Prince and his 
officers, where they could entertain as much or as 
little as he should choose and at the same time be 
absolutely free from intrusion. A picked lot of 
policemen and detectives had full charge of the 
neighbourhood and kept a sharp eye on all suspicious 
persons. 

When the ocean liner bearing Prince Henry finally 
arrived, I hurried on board with my staff to welcome 
him. We managed to board her in the lower bay 
and go up to the city with him. It was a beau- 
tiful, sharp February morning and the crisp air was 
entirely free from smoke. A light fall of snow of 
the night before remained, and covered the ground 
and shrubbery so that they appeared to the best 
advantage. As we passed the special-service squad- 
ron, they saluted his Royal Highness with twenty-one 

30 



Arrival of Prince Henry 

g^ins. All the vessels in the harbour owning steam 
whistles pulled them wide open, and the din was deaf- 
ening. 

There is always something more or less formal 
about naval special full-dress uniform; it is intended 
for occasions of special ceremony, and a welcome in 
this dress must be formal. When I addressed Prince 
Henry and welcomed him to the United States on the 
part of the Navy, it was charming to see the ease with 
which he banished all formality. 

" I thank you and your brother officers, Admiral, for 
your welcome." And then, quick as a flash : " My 
dear Evans, it is such a pleasure to be welcomed first 
by an old friend." After this, all informality disap- 
peared and was replaced by the strictest official courtesy 
and etiquette. 

As the Kronprinz steamed up the harbour Prince 
Henry observed everything minutely. I stood on the 
bridge with him and pointed out to him the different 
objects of interest. New York lower bay, in setting of 
snow, was almost beautiful, certainly it was attractive, 
but the city itself when it finally came into view was 
ugly beyond words to describe. The straggling masses 
of skyscrapers, no two of them the same shape or size 
and surrounded by low, ugly, squalid buildings, did not 
impress any one even with a sense of grandeur. The 
Prince gave us to understand that, while he was inter- 
ested in the subject of architecture, the real object of 
his visit was to see the American people, and during his 
entire visit this was never lost sight of — to see the 
American people and as much of them as possible in 
the time at his disposal. 

31 



An Admiral's Log 

As the great ocean liner approached her dock, six 
tugs put their noses against her starboard side and 
quickly turned her against the strong current of the 
river and slipped her into her berth without so much 
as scratching the paint on her side. Prince Henry- 
watched this work with the interest natural to one of 
his professional attainments. He knew what he was 
looking at, and he also knew how well it was being 
done, and, further, that it could not be so well done 
anywhere else in the world. When the ship had been 
docked and the gangplank, covered with American and 
German flags, lowered into place, I passed out with my 
staff and formed line on the dock near the Hohenzol- 
lern. As his Royal Highness came down, we stood at 
salute, and I said to him : 

" Prince Henry, I beg to welcome you to American 
soil." 

To which he replied with a smile : 

" It is a great pleasure to know that it is an old 
friend who welcomes me first." Then he passed over 
the side of the Hohenzollern and the reception, so far 
as I was concerned, was at an end. 

The customary visits of courtesy followed at once. 
Calls were made by the German ambassador; the offi- 
cers representing our government, headed by the 
Assistant Secretary of State; Admiral Barker, Com- 
mandant of the Navy Yard; General Brooks, com- 
manding the Department of the East; and, finally, by 
Mr. Seth Low, mayor of the city of New York. It 
was late in the afternoon when all these visits had 
been returned, but the Prince insisted that dinner could 
wait until he had the pleasure of visiting my flagship. 

32 



Reception by German Societies 

A tug conveyed us to Tompkinsville, where he in- 
spected the Ilhnois very thoroughly, and expressed him- 
self as highly pleased with her condition and every- 
thing about her. Then we returned to the royal yacht, 
where dinner was served and the officers prepared for 
the first night in America. 

That night Prince Henry had his first glimpse of 
German America. He visited the Deutsche Verein, and 
there heard for the first time in America the German 
singing which was to be a feature of his whole trip. 
The song commemorating the sinking of a German tor- 
pedo boat at sea, off the coast of China, was superbly 
rendered by a chorus of more than one hundred male 
voices, and was repeated at the request of the Prince. 
Then he reviewed a torchlight procession of German 
societies from one of the balconies on the fifth story of 
the club-house. It was a scene long to be remembered 
by those who witnessed it. Park Avenue, as far as the 
eye could reach, was a dense mass of Germans, with a 
blaze of light through the middle of the street. As each 
club or society came before the balcony its members 
cheered and saluted the Prince. One of his aides stood 
by, watch in hand, timing the men as they marched 
past, and after twenty-five or thirty counts this officer 
reported that they were passing at the rate of two hun- 
dred a minute, and that the end of the procession would 
pass at a certain time, which it did within half a minute. 
When the end of the procession approached, I said to 
Prince Henry : 

" Will you kindly step to the end of the balcony 
when the procession has passed? The people would 
like to have a look at you." Every available space 

33 



An Admirars Log 

was jammed with people, and as he appeared there 
arose a German-American roar that can never be for- 
gotten. 

Our German population was naturally a source of 
much interest to Prince Henry. He wanted to know 
and to hear what they thought of many things, but he 
also wanted to know what we Americans thought of 
them, and he was immensely pleased when we com- 
mended them as good citizens. In every speech to 
them he said that they could best show their love for 
the Fatherland by being loyal to their adopted country, 
America. Though holding himself well in hand and 
under perfect control, the Prince was as emotional and 
sensitive as a girl, and whenever he saw the German 
veterans of the Franco-Prussian War the tears were 
very near the surface. Later on, in Milwaukee, several 
hundred of the soldiers of 'yo-yi were drawn up for 
his inspection. Both he and the distinguished officers 
of his party stopped and spoke to the old men, and the 
greeting was most cordial and striking. 

The day following the landing in New York the 
Prince and his party proceeded to Washington to meet 
the President and deliver the messages of his Majesty, 
the Emperor. In the evening he dined with President 
Roosevelt, and to meet him some of the most distin- 
guished men of the nation had been asked to the White 
House. During his personal interviews no one was 
allowed to be present, and what was said by either 
Prince or President must remain a secret until one or 
the other may choose to speak. It was plain from their 
faces afterwards, however, that nothing unpleasant had 
taken place. After the interview they both seemed to 

34 



The Prince and Congress 

enjoy a long horseback ride across country, though 
they came back from it drenched to the skin. 

On February 24th it was arranged that Prince 
Henry should have a look at the Congress of the 
United States, which was then in session. We drove 
to the Capitol and were given seats in the diplomatic 
gallery of the House of Representatives, where we sat 
for half an hour and listened to the talk of some mem- 
ber who left on our minds only one impression — how 
frequently he could murder the King's English. The 
plan for us after this was to proceed to the diplomatic 
gallery of the Senate, but this was only partially carried 
out. The members of the staff were shown into that 
gallery, but the Prince and his personal aides were 
shown into the Vice-President's room. Senators Mor- 
gan, Frye, and Lodge then conducted us onto the floor 
of the Senate. The Vice-President invited his Royal 
Highness to take the seat of the presiding officer, which 
he declined, but accepted a seat by his side, and the 
Senate went on with its work. This unusual courtesy 
was perfectly understood by the Prince and fully ap- 
preciated by him. It brought home to him in the 
strongest way the feeling of friendship entertained for 
him by the people of this country. Mr. Bailey, senator 
from Texas, was speaking at the time of our visit, and 
Prince Henry was impressed, as I was, with the 
strength of his argument. He was claiming that it was 
doubtful if the Senate had the right to suspend a sen- 
ator — that it had the right to dismiss a member, and in 
that case another could be provided to fill the place, 
but in the case of suspension the state would be without 
proper representation. 

35 



An Admiral's Log 

On February 25th a distinguished party assembled 
to witness the launching of the Emperor's yacht, the 
Meteor. A special train conveyed the President and 
his friends to Jersey City, and a second train carried 
Prince Henry and his party. The two trains were 
housed in the depot at the same time, and from them 
the whole party was taken on board a special Pennsyl- 
vania ferryboat to the shipyard at Shelter Island to 
witness the launching. The ferryboat was decorated 
with flags, as became the occasion, the President's flag 
at one side. Prince Henry's standard on the other, and 
the American flag above all. The weather was foggy 
and very cold, but even this could not prevent the 
enthusiastic crowds from making themselves heard. 

The launching of the Meteor and her christening 
by Miss Alice Roosevelt were in every way successful 
and perfect. There are always people wishing to make 
trouble, and on this occasion some one raised the point 
that the vessel should be launched flying the German 
flag, and immediately some one else claimed that she 
should fly the American flag. This caused some feel- 
ing, and it looked as if there might be trouble over so 
simple a thing. Of course, it was not a question for me 
to settle; in fact, it was none of my business, and I 
would not have said a word about it if one of the Ger- 
man officers who was to take the yacht home had not 
asked me to do so. I asked him if the Meteor had been 
paid for, and he replied that she had not. Then, I said, 
as she belonged to the people who built her, it would 
seem proper that she should fly their flag until her con- 
dition changed. When she had been paid for, cleared 
for a German port, under command of a German cap- 

36 



Launching of the Meteor 

tain, it would be proper and fitting for her to fly the 
German flag, and not before. This seemed so simple a 
solution of the question that every one accepted it, and 
the matter was never heard of again. 

After the launching, a beautiful luncheon was 
served, the usual number of speeches were made, and 
the party returned to New York city to dine on board 
the Hohenzollern. The caterer who furnished and 
served the luncheon was the victim of a peculiar Amer- 
ican custom. All his table furniture was stolen and 
carried off as souvenirs. Years afterwards he ap- 
pealed to me to help him in some way, if I could, to 
recover the value of his property. I was very sorry for 
the man, but could do nothing to help him. When I 
had told him of some of our experiences on board ves- 
sels of the navy, where we had lost practically every- 
thing we owned, he seemed to feel his losses less keenly. 
In later years we were all made to blush by these same 
souvenir thieves when they stole from the officers of an 
Italian cruiser, who had given a reception, all their 
jewelry and personal belongings. 

After luncheon on the Hohenzollern, and when the 
President and his party left for Washington, Prince 
Henry started for the City Hall to receive the freedom 
of the city of New York. The weather was very bad ; 
it was blowing a northeast gale, with rain and occa- 
sional snow, and to make the trip as easily as possible 
I took him on a navy-yard tug as far as the Battery, 
where carriages were in waiting. At this point oc- 
curred one of those incidents which had much to do 
in shaping American sentiment toward him. As the 
tug drew up to the landing, Prince Henry noticed that 

4 37 



An Admiral's Log 

our carriages were closed, and at the same time he saw 
the dripping multitude, facing the northeast storm, 
waiting to welcome him. Turning to me, he said : 

" Evans, please have the carriages opened. If the 
people can stand in the rain to see me, I can surely sit 
in the rain to see them ! " 

As the first carriage was opened and the crowd un- 
derstood what was being done, the cheers began, and 
soon the streets were filled with a wet mass of cheering 
humanity. And so we rode to the City Hall, all of us 
thoroughly soaked, our special full-dress uniforms drip- 
ping wet and the icy water trickling down our backs, 
but in no way worse off than the honest Americans 
who were welcoming the Prince. 

It was a pleasure at this time to watch the crowds 
and observe the changing expressions of the faces. 
Most of them were serious at first, and when they 
caught sight of Prince Henry's face this quickly 
changed into smiles, and then came handclapping and 
cheers. It was one of the most striking things I ever 
saw. Repeated elsewhere and often afterwards, it 
showed me that it was the personality of the man that 
was winning him friends, and not any idle curiosity 
about a Prince. He captured them all, men and 
women, big and little, young and old, as soon as they 
had one look at his smiling face. 

At the City Hall we were met by the mayor and 
members of the city government. The freedom of the 
city was presented to his Royal Highness in a beautiful 
silver casket by Mayor Seth Low in a short, eloquent 
address. I have heard many addresses of various kinds 
in my life, under all kinds of conditions, but never be- 

38 



The Prince's Escort 

fore or since have I heard anything finer than this one 
from Mayor Low. As Prince Henry said of it after- 
wards, " it was poHshed and brilHant in every phrase." 

When the ceremony was over we drove back to the 
Hohenzollern through the city. The streets were 
crowded with people, and the pelting rain and driving 
snow treated us all impartially, wetting us to the skin, 
or rather keeping us wet to the skin, for we had been 
in that condition for several hours. 

Every hour of Prince Henry's time while in New 
York had been covered by a programme which was 
made up, generally speaking, of public receptions. The 
night after he had received the freedom of the city and 
such a thorough wetting, he was to appear at the Metro- 
politan Opera, where a special performance was to be 
given in his honour. As soon as we had changed our 
clothing and eaten a hasty dinner we started. The 
weather by this time had become very cold and the 
streets were a sheet of ice. In addition to the guard of 
mounted police, Squadron A, the crack New York cav- 
alry organisation, had asked to be allowed the honour 
of escorting the Prince, and this request was granted. 
We were a little late in starting from the Hohenzollern, 
and in order to make up the time we had to drive at 
rather a rapid pace, considering the condition of the 
streets. 

We had gone a few blocks only when one of the 
cavalrymen received what looked like a very ugly fall. 
The horse slipped on the icy street and went down, 
landing apparently on top of the rider. In a moment 
the young man was up and, before we could see what 
damage had been done, quickly remounted the animal 

39 



'An Admirars Log 

and darted back to his place. Prince Henry called a 
mounted policeman and asked that this soldier be sent 
back to report to him, as he had something to say to 
him. I watched the incident with interest, as I felt 
pretty sure of what would happen. 

The soldier wheeled his horse and reported smartly 
to the Prince, who complimented him on his horseman- 
ship, hoped he was not hurt, and shook hands with him. 
Then the horses began falling rapidly. There was 
quite a string of them coming back to be complimented 
and to shake hands with his Royal Highness, and, 
while the condition of the streets may have accounted 
for many of the falls, I have always felt that some of 
them could not be accounted for in this way. On our 
return trip that night to the Hohenzollern we drove 
through the middle of the street at a walk, and the 
cavalry escort rode on the sidewalks, thus preventing 
accidents. 



CHAPTER V 

PRINCE HENRY IN THE WEST 

When we started on our western trip, one of the 
first requests made by Prince Henry was that he be al- 
lowed to ride on a locomotive. He was fond of driving 
a torpedo boat at top speed,' and, being many kinds of 
an engineer, wished to see what an American locomotive 
could do. The conditions at the time were not the very 
best for safety, as it had been raining hard for many 
days, causing several washouts on the road ahead of us. 
In addition to this, the German ambassador, who ac- 
companied the party, objected to his doing it. How- 
ever, it was finally arranged that he should have his 
ride, and accordingly at Summit he mounted the 120- 
ton locomotive that drew our train. Mr. Boyd, of the 
Pennsylvania Railroad, went with him, and after going 
about one hundred miles he came back to his car as 
black as a chimney sweep, but vowing that he had had a 
splendid trip. His manner to the men on the locomo- 
tive and those working about it was so democratic and 
natural, and withal so knowing, that they were all his 
devoted admirers. And the same may be said of about 
ninety-nine per cent of the people with whom he came 
in contact during his visit to this country. Since his 
return to Germany, Prince Henry has been one of the 

41 



An Admiral's Log 

leading men there in developing- the fastest motor cars 
and the best balloons and aeroplanes. 

When the train was fairly started on our western 
trip, we soon settled down into real comfort. The car 
occupied by the Prince was at the rear of the train, so 
that he could conveniently show himself when occasion 
demanded, and this was really at every town or city 
through which we passed. The rear end of the car was 
used for dining and observation purposes. The rest of 
it was taken up with state-rooms, in which were berthed 
Prince Henry, Commodore Seckendorf, the chief of his 
household, his personal servant, and myself. Other 
cars on the train held the rest of the party, and they all 
took their meals in one or two dining cars. When 
the Prince had completed his toilet in the morning, 
usually about seven o'clock, the chief of his household 
and the adjutant for the day were summoned and trans- 
acted such business as was necessary. Among other 
things, they prepared the invitations for dinner for 
those who were to dine with him in addition to the 
regular party. Each day found the division superin- 
tendent of the road on which we were riding on 
board the train, and he was always invited. Then 
one or two members of his own party and as many 
of the committee completed the group around the table. 
The German ambassador and Admiral von Tirpitz, 
Secretary of the German Navy, dined with us every 
day. 

The cars were supplied with every luxury in the 
way of meat and drink, the service was excellent, and 
our meals a time of pleasure and enjoyment. The Ger- 
man officers were all experts in their several lines, spoke 

42 



On the Prince's Train 

English well, and never hesitated to say just what they 
thought about any professional subject that happened 
to be under discussion. So we came, before the end of 
the trip, to know the German side of many questions that 
had been as a sealed book to us before. After break- 
fast had been served, we gave our time to observing the 
country through which we were passing. Many times 
Chief Wilkie joined the party and amused us all with 
his witty and wonderful stories. Dinner was the 
formal meal of the day, but only formal as compared 
with our breakfast and luncheon. The Prince was 
always democratic and most entertaining, seemed never 
to be playing the part of a Prince, but no one in the 
party ever forgot that he was one, and a jolly good one 
at that. 

When Prince Henry had retired, which was usually 
at one or two o'clock in the morning, one of my most 
important duties had to be attended to. Wilkie would 
come in with the mass of telegrams from stations ahead 
of us, and these had to be carefully read and disposed 
of. They came generally from police authorities, but 
sometimes from all manner of people. We had quite a 
number like this : 



" Turn back your train at once. The Prince will be 
shot at one p.m. to-morrow! " 



Of course these went quickly into the paper basket, 
for we knew that if any one was going to shoot him 
we would not be told in advance. When all the mes- 
sages had been gone over carefully, Wilkie would turn 
in, but always left one of his men on duty in the car. 

43 



An Admiral's Log 

Then Mr. Boyd would come in for a few minutes and 
chat about matters connected with the train, after which 
I could consider my day's work completed and retire to 
my bed. 

The reception of the royal party at St. Louis was 
magnificent, as was to be expected from a city which 
claimed as German one-half of its population. Gov- 
ernor Francis, one of the most dignified and polished 
gentlemen this country has ever produced, was at the 
head of the reception committee, and that meant that 
everything would be done in a dignified and proper 
w^ay. The railroad station was surrounded by a surg- 
ing mass of enthusiastic, orderly people, all anxious for 
a sight of the distinguished visitor. A large number of 
police were on duty, and a fine mounted escort w^as in 
readiness. 

When we had left the depot we found the streets 
thronged with people, all of them keeping to the side- 
walks and no effort being made to crowd the carriage. 
Prince Henry and Governor Francis sat on the after 
seat and, of course, Wilkie and I on the other, with a 
Secret Service officer on the box with the driver. As we 
passed through the principal streets of the city the peo- 
ple showed great enthusiasm; particularly was this the 
case with the women. This led to a very amusing inci- 
dent. Wilkie, who had been watching everything in a 
keen, businesslike way, turned to Prince Henry and 
Governor Francis and said : 

" Some of the most noted pickpockets of the coun- 
try are here to-day, and I have been w^atching them 
reap a rich harvest." 

We were all attention at once, and he pointed out 
44 



Arrival at St. Louis 

to us how the game was being played. The women 
were crowded out close to the curbing of the sidewalk, 
and as we approached they raised both hands to wave a 
welcome to the Prince, which many of them did with 
red, hysterical faces. This was the chance for the 
" crooks," who would dodge in front of them and with 
some sharp instrument quickly relieve them of the 
small bags hanging about their waists, which usually 
contained their valuables and money. It was amusing, 
as well as instructive, to see how quickly and completely 
this could be done, and how soon the offender was 
safely hidden in the crowd. They disappeared like rats 
running into a hole. If this part was amusing, it cer- 
tainly was pathetic to see the faces of the women 
and hear their screams when they discovered their loss. 
I am sure that we saw at least half a dozen of the most 
noted pickpockets in the United States actually plying 
their trade — a novel experience, and one not likely to be 
repeated. 

During the whole of our ride I was anxiously 
watching the crowd for some indication of unfriendly 
feeling toward our guest. I was sure that if such feel- 
ing were ever shown, it would be in some city with 
a large German or Polish population. 

A short time after we started from the railroad sta- 
tion I noticed a large, rough-looking man, apparently 
about twenty-five years of age, who was following our 
carriage. He ran along in the rear of the crowd, in the 
open space between the crowd and the fronts of the 
houses, and as he loped along he kept his eyes con- 
stantly on us. After watching him for ten or fifteen 
minutes, I called Wilkie's attention to him, and he, in 

45 



An Admiral's Log 

turn, spoke a few words in an undertone to the detec- 
tive on the box, who said quietly : 

" All right ; been watching him ; has no gun ! " 

Wilkie then told me that he had had his eyes on this 
man from the moment he first started after us, and was 
satisfied that there was no harm in him. It was inter- 
esting, as well as very assuring, to see how well these 
efiicient Secret Service officers knew their business. 

We had a long, rapid ride through the beautiful 
streets of St. Louis, then a splendid banquet, and after- 
wards a quiet night on our train, where we discussed 
the events of the day and viewed the presents that had 
been sent to the Prince. As I recall it now, the most 
amusing event of the day was the inability of the chief 
of police to ride a spirited charger that had been pro- 
vided for the purpose. The chief was a very large, fat 
man, who did not look like one given to much horse- 
back exercise. However, he made several desperate 
efforts, and only gave up after a bad fall. The horse, 
a fine specimen, behaved as if he had never before 
heard a military band. He certainly did tricks enough 
to put him in the Wild West Show, where he would 
have done himself credit. 

When we were passing through the manufacturing 
part of the city a workman leaned out of a window in 
the tenth or twelfth story and, using a long megaphone, 
called out : " Hello, Henry, how are you, and how 
is your brother William?" Many times people on the 
streets called out, " How are you. Prince Henry ? " and 
he always smiled and answered, " Very well, thank 
you. How are you?" It was this complete under- 
standing of the democratic manners of our middle 

46 



At Chattanooea 



&' 



classes that made the Prince so popular with the com- 
mon people. Of course, he never heard such things 
from those who understood what was due to royalty. 

At Chattanooga we were joined by General Boyn- 
ton and a local committee, who conducted us to Look- 
out Mountain and explained in detail to the German 
officers the great battle fought at this point during the 
Civil War. While the general gave his description the 
officers stood about him in a picturesque group and 
listened, as only real military men can listen, to the 
story of one of the greatest battles of history. General 
von Plessen, the chief of staff of the German army, 
was one of the party, and it was only necessary to hear 
a few of his questions to know that he had made a 
searching and deep study of this particular campaign. 
As the historian of so many of the great battles of the 
war. General Boynton was able to point out exactly 
how each brigade and division was manoeuvred in this 
contest. At times one could almost see the men in blue 
uniform driving back their gallant enemies far above 
the clouds. I watched with interest the faces of the 
German officers while they listened to the brilliant de- 
scription, and it was plain to see from the way their 
colour came and went, and from the flashing of their 
eyes, that war was the thing, and the only thing, that 
really stirred them through and through. 

It was necessary for me to return to the train before 
the rest of the party, and while I was looking after 
some matters of detail a telegram came from a city in 
Kentucky, asking if the Prince would stop there for a 
few minutes to be greeted by his friends and receive a 
present from them. I answered " Yes," and then ar- 

47 



Lea 

An Admiral's Log 



ranged with Boyd to stop the train for just two min- 
utes, and no more. When we had said good-bye to our 
kind-hearted friends at Chattanooga and were fairly 
on our way, I explained to Prince Henry what I had 
done and what he might expect. Several of the rank- 
ing officers were assembled in our car, in the obser- 
vation end of it, while I told them of some of the 
peculiarities of the Kentucky people. 

After recounting some of the most noted and 
bloody feuds in which there had been great loss of life, 
I described the habit of carrying concealed weapons by 
the male population, and explained how this practice 
had resulted in leaving the country without many 
whole men, most of them being maimed or marked in 
some way, either by gun or knife. All the Germans 
exclaimed at such a barbarous custom, but at the same 
time there was not a man among them who did not 
show scars on his face, received in his college-day 
duels. They had fought often, but the practice was 
mere fun compared with that of the Kentucky methods. 
Both methods have their advocates. 

When we arrived at the town from which the tele- 
gram had come, and the train had been stopped with- 
out killing any of the enthusiastic thousands who 
crowded the tracks, the usual committee of three came 
on board. The chairman came first, a young, clean-cut 
gentleman, perfectly dressed, and in every way pre- 
pared to do with credit what devolved upon him. As 
he began, in his soft, southern voice, " Yo' Royal High- 
ness," we saw that he had one defective eye! As he 
finished his few polished words of welcome he pre- 
sented his two fellow-members of the committee, and 

48 




Prince Henry of Prussia with Admiral Evans, on his tour through 
the United States. 



Southern Hospitality 

one of them was lame in one leg! Then came three 
coloured men, each bearing a box or case, and when 
these had been deposited the party withdrew and we 
went on our way. During the short presentation speech 
we were all doing our best to suppress our laughter. 
The committee must have thought us a good-humoured 
party, for every man had a broad grin on his face, the 
cause of which was, of course, unknown to our kind- 
hearted friends. 

As the train pulled out of the station and the shouts 
of laughter, provoked by the number of lame or 
maimed people we had seen, had subsided, Prince 
Henry asked : 

" Evans, what do you think is in those boxes ? " 

I replied that one probably contained very old and 
fine Bourbon whiskey, one apple brandy, and the other 
peach brandy. This statement proved to be correct 
when the cases were opened. His Royal Highness 
tested them all in one dose, and pronounced them good, 
though different from anything he ever drank before. 
I mixed a fair-sized drink of whiskey, a little apple 
brandy with it, and just a dash of peach brandy on top 
to give it the proper flavour. Before I had time to add 
any water the Prince took the glass and, instead of sip- 
ping the fluid, swallowed the whole poisonous mess 
and, with a rather startled look on his face, asked : 

" What do you call that drink? " 

" A torchlight procession, your Royal Highness ! " 
was my reply. 

The boxes were repacked, and afterward found 
their way to the Palace at Kiel. The next morning, if 
I had known the story then, I would have told Prince 

49 



An Admiral's Log 

Henry of the Kentucky gentleman who, on being 
asked, early in the morning, how he felt, replied, " How 
do I feel, sah? I feel as every gentleman should feel 
in the morning, sah ! I feel like hell, sail ! " 

The reception accorded to the royal party at Chi- 
cago was just what one would expect from Chicago. 
The population of this great city turned out by hun- 
dreds of thousands to welcome its guests, and words 
fail to describe what the great sea of humanity looked 
like. In every direction the streets were blocked with 
people, but the police kept perfect order without the 
assistance of any military force. Some of the streets 
were roped off to keep the crowds within bounds, but 
as a rule this was not done. Orders were published 
requiring the people to remain on the sidewalks, and 
the police enforced the order. As an exhibition of 
police authority it was certainly most striking. Chi- 
cago had learned her lesson in the days of the Haymar- 
ket trouble, and later in the labour strikes, and she had 
learned it well. 

After leaving the train we proceeded, with a strong 
mounted police patrol ahead of us, to the Auditorium 
Hotel, where fine accommodations had been secured. 
On our way we had to pass a house where the anarchist 
newspaper of the city was published, and, notwithstand- 
ing that all possible precautions had been taken, both 
Chief Wilkie and I feared some unfriendly demonstra- 
tion at this point. As we approached the corner on 
which the printing office stood, I noticed that the build- 
ings on the opposite side of the street had a number of 
policemen on the roofs in such position that they could 
command all the windows. One glance at Wilkie 

50 



Passing the Danger Point 

showed that he was just a trifle pale, but, with his right 
hand in his left breast pocket, he was ready for action 
in a second or less. Both of us thought that Prince 
Henry, who sat on the back seat conversing with the 
mayor, was ignorant of the conditions, but we were 
undeceived a few minutes later when he leaned for- 
ward, smiling, and said, " Wilkie, is your heart beating 
very fast ? You know the danger point is passed ! " 
We never learned who told him of the danger, and 
nothing in his appearance indicated that he apprehended 
any. 

The weather during our visit to Chicago was bit- 
terly cold, compelling us to wear our heaviest service 
overcoats. When we reached the hotel I stepped out 
of the carriage to assist the Prince, who passed at once 
into the lobby, closely followed by six or eight of the 
finest -looking detective officers I ever saw, who pre- 
vented the crowd from following too closely. It was 
their business to look to the safety and comfort of the 
foreign guests, and they did it most efficiently. We 
common American officers were supposed to take care 
of ourselves, but it was a difficult job in the surging 
mass of humanity that packed the streets and sur- 
rounded our carriages after we stopped. As I followed 
Prince Henry and the mayor from the carriage to the 
hotel entrance, I was conscious that I was being pretty 
roughly crowded and jostled, but it was only for a 
moment, and I paid no attention to those about me. 
All were cheering and seemed in the best of humour. 
On entering my room my servant asked me how I had 
torn my overcoat, a new one of heavy blue service 
cloth, I replied that I had not torn it, so far as I 

51 



An Admiral's Log 

knew ; that I was unconscious of having; done so. 
When I had removed it, however, I found a clean cut, 
quite ten inches long, across the back, just over 
the hip pocket in my trousers, made no doubt by 
some expert pickpocket with a razor or some other 
very sharp instrument in order to reach my pocket- 
book. When he put his hand into the opening, if 
he went that far, he felt a revolver, and not a pocket- 
book, and, as he was probably well supplied with 
weapons of that kind, he left it alone. The police were 
undoubtedly expert and efficient. So were the pick- 
pockets ! 

When we had changed our uniforms. Prince Henry 
proceeded to place a wreath on the tomb of Abraham 
Lincoln. He was accompanied by Mr. Robert T. Lin- 
coln, Mayor Harrison, Chief Wilkie, and myself. 
Other carriages carried the rest of the party, including 
the German ambassador and the German consul, to 
Chicago. As soon as the wreath had been placed. 
Prince Henry took a spade and planted a tree near the 
tomb, and the ceremony was complete. Mr. Lincoln 
seemed particularly touched by this tribute to the mem- 
ory of his father when informed that it was at the 
command of the Emperor of Germany. 

The programme of entertainments during our stay 
in the city was so full and complete that it was almost 
more than human flesh could stand to carry it out. 
First came a great reception and ball, over which the 
" four hundred " had many discussions as to rank and 
precedence. The lady who drew the Prince was, of 
course, satisfied, and she seemed to be the only one that 
was. I was fortunate in having a charming woman for 

52 



The Ball at Chicago 

my companion during the grand march into the ball- 
room, which was, of itself, a wonderful performance 
and very long drawn out. When the dancing began I 
introduced her to a German lieutenant, and that was 
the last I saw of her. She never came back, and she 
was considerate enough not to put any one in her 
place, so that I was able, after waiting a proper time 
for her return, to retire to a quiet corner and enjoy my 
cigar. 

This ball and reception disclosed a curious condi- 
tion, which was a complete surprise to many of us. 
Immediately after our arrival I noticed a number of 
very military-looking men in plain clothes speaking to 
Prince Henry. They all stood at attention with their 
heels together, and all spoke German. Wilkie soon 
knew all about them, and informed me that they were 
German army officers on leave, travelling in the United 
States, where they were seeing what they could see and 
preparing reports on various subjects for his Majesty, 
the Emperor, I was much surprised to find so many 
of them. They could not wear their uniforms without 
permission of his Majesty, and to appear in plain dress 
at the ball was distasteful, so either the Prince or the 
ambassador, or maybe both of them, wired for the 
necessary permission, and it came in time for them to 
attend the ball and the banquet in military dress. I do 
not believe there were more than three people in Chi- 
cago who knew of the presence of those officers in and 
about the city. We may, however, be quite sure that 
those courteous, quick-eyed men gave the Emperor all 
the information he wanted about the great city and its 



doings. 



53 



An Admiral's Log 

Entertainments of various kinds followed each other 
in rapid succession, but none of them supplied what 
Prince Henry wanted. He was very desirous of seeing 
something of the great industries of this unique city. 
The music he heard was excellent, but he could hear 
better in Germany. The ladies were, some of them, 
beautiful, and the display of necks, shoulders, and dia- 
monds great, but all these could also be seen in other 
places. What could not be seen anywhere else in the 
world was the wonderful packing houses and kindred 
industries, and these he was most anxious to inspect; 
but his wishes could not be complied with. Both Wil- 
kie and I argued the case with the ambassador and 
begged him to allow us to arrange a trip through the 
cattle yards, but he would not for a moment consent, or 
even listen to it. All the detective officers were confi- 
dent that no harm would come from such a trip, but the 
mayor said, when we appealed to him, that he regretted 
to have to say that he could not guarantee the safety of 
his distinguished guest if he undertook it — a hard ad- 
mission for the head of a great city government to have 
to make. 

Many, if not all, of the great packing houses em- 
ployed Poles in the work of dressing and cutting the 
animals to be packed, and, of course, these Polaks hated 
everything German. This the German ambassador 
knew, and it was for fear of some bodily harm to his 
Royal Highness that he objected so strongly. The in- 
formation I had from the detectives satisfied me that the 
proposed trip would be a perfectly safe one. The Polaks 
might throw some blood on us, which was a playful 
trick they enjoyed, but this could not hurt any one 

54 



Reception at Milwaukee 

seriously, and the blood could be easily washed off. I 
doubted if they would do even so much. 

However, the ambassador was the one to decide 
the question, and he did it. The Prince was willing to 
go in mufti, but I was unwilling to take that chance 
against the opinion of the mayor and the ambassador, 
and so Prince Henry missed seeing the one thing above 
all others he wanted to see in the United States. 
Many of his officers saw not only the packing houses 
and stock yards, but many other things not always 
shown, without danger or inconvenience. 

From Chicago we ran to Milwaukee, a city which 
claims more than two-thirds of its population as Ger- 
man or of German descent, and here we had one of the 
pleasantest receptions of the whole trip. Mayor Rose 
and the city officials had arranged a programme, which 
occupied all our time, but also gave us a few hours for 
rest. When the train arrived we were taken for quite 
a long drive about the city, beautifully located on a high 
bluff overlooking the lake, and the strong, cold lake 
breeze blowing at the time gave colour to everything, 
but particularly to the cheeks of the women. Prince 
Henry was struck, as I was, with the number of beau- 
tiful women we saw. They were at their best because 
of the cool, crisp air and the beautiful clothes they 
wore. The city, people, and all were in gala attire. 
Many times Prince Henry said to me in an undertone, 
" Evans, look quick at that charming face," and then it 
would be my turn to call his attention to one on my 
side of the carriage. Finally we agreed that each 
should look at those on his own side only. Otherwise 
we would become cross-eyed ! 

55 



An Admiral's Log 

At the time of our visit there was a great gathering 
of German societies in the city, and they gave the 
Prince much music, singing, and speech-making. Dur- 
ing the night there was a turnout of the whole city fire 
department, and the firemen gave us a fine exhibition of 
what they could do in case of necessity. The horses 
ran well and the men rode the long hook-and-ladder 
wagons without falling off, and turned the corners with 
the accuracy of a modern battleship under full steam. 

The great breweries for which Milwaukee is famous 
were inspected, and afforded several hours of interest 
to the Prince and his party. Before we left, our car 
was fairly loaded with export blue-label beer, which 
the German officers liked, much to my surprise. I 
could understand why they liked American champagne. 
It was not French and was sweet — two very good rea- 
sons for their preference, for they like sweet wine, as 
a rule, and they do not like anything French. But the 
beer question was a puzzle to me. 



CHAPTER VI 

PRINCE HENRY AT NIAGARA FALLS 

As we moved along from Milwaukee back to the 
eastward again, and passed through the oil fields of 
Ohio, Prince Henry was thoroughly interested, and 
wanted the train stopped while he examined some of 
the wells and the method of handling the product. 
And so it was when we passed through the vast grape 
district about Erie, where they cultivate over two hun- 
dred varieties of grapes. In the one case he was deeply 
interested because there is no petroleum in Germany, and 
in the other because there they grow grapes in enor- 
mous quantities and supply the best wine to a large 
part of the world, and he wanted to compare methods. 
With all the fun we were having on the train, he was 
absorbing a great amount of information for future 
use or reference. 

On our arrival at Niagara Falls we found, for the 
first time, defective police arrangements. We were 
much delayed in our movements by the curious crowd 
which surrounded us and stared in our faces. My Chi- 
cago experience, I suppose, had rendered me sensitive 
to the touch of strange hands about my clothing, and 
w^hen I found some one trying to get his hand into my 
hip pocket, under my military cloak, I was provoked 
and angered beyond reason. Without much effort I 

57 



An Admiral's Log 

caught the wrist of the would-be thief and held it 
firmly, and then, in an instant, the thought flashed 
through my mind that if I called for the arrest of the 
person I should have to remain over to appear against 
him. The young man, not over twenty, I am sure, was 
doing his best to get away from me. So, with a sharp 
upper cut with my right on the point of his chin, I let 
him go. The crowd was dense at the time, and, seeing 
the condition of things, handled the young chap rather 
roughly. When I saw him last he was being well ham- 
mered by four or five youngsters of his own age. 

Niagara was one of the points of greatest interest 
to Prince Henry and his party. Aside from the natural 
beauties of the wonderful place, they were deeply inter- 
ested in the scheme, then just completed, of generating 
electric power from the water of the falls and trans- 
mitting the same to Buffalo and other nearby cities. 
The officers of the power company were most courteous 
and obliging, and gave the Prince and his officers every 
chance to see and inspect in detail their magnificent 
plant, capable of generating and transmitting 250,000 
horse power to a distance of sixty or seventy miles. 
My impression at the time was that this was the most 
interesting incident of the trip. 

After the examination of the power house came a 
delightful visit down the gorge to witness the tumble 
of the waters, which appealed to the sensitive, poetical 
nature of Prince Henry and filled his music-loving soul 
with joy. For nearly an hour he sat watching the 
surging mass of tumbling water, silent and enrapt. 
Occasionally he would look up and ask about some 
daring attempt to swim the falls, and then relapse into 

58 



A Canadian Welcome 

silent watching of the wonderful scene before him. It 
was an hour of pure joy for us all. 

Later we crossed the bridge, in the biting cold, for 
a nearer view of the falls. In the middle of the bridge 
our carriages were stopped and we had to spend pre- 
cious time listening to a Canadian address of welcome. 
Then the Prince had to respond and later send a wire 
to his uncle announcing his arrival on English soil, all 
of which was necessary under the strict rules of eti- 
quette; but it took valuable time, and we had none to 
spare. If all the speech-making could have been cut 
out of the trip. Prince Henry could have seen much of 
our splendid machinery, in which he was so much inter- 
ested. An effort was constantly made to make this 
speech-making appear as a purely American custom. 
But I had to maintain that it was the custom of every 
country I had ever visited. Certainly it was so at the 
opening of the Kiel Canal, and I afterwards found it 
flourishing in China and Japan. We may be the only 
nation that carries it to such a painful extent, but all 
other nations have the disease, and it will, no doubt, 
grow with them, as it has with us, until one cannot 
visit a deaf-and-dumb institution without delivering a 
so-called address, and listening to one, or more, in 
reply. 



CHAPTER VII 

PRINCE HENRY IN BOSTON 

From Niagara our itinerary took us to Boston, 
where, of course, everything was properly done. Aside 
from a desire to see one of the oldest and most historic 
of American cities, the Prince held a special commis- 
sion from the Emperor to deliver to Harvard Univer- 
sity presents of considerable value. Incidentally, he 
was to receive a degree himself, which gave him great 
pleasure. 

The reception at Cambridge was delightful and dig- 
nified. The president and professors spoke well, the 
students cheered well, and everything was as it should 
be, with one exception. When Prince Henry had re- 
ceived his degree and, at a convenient moment, stood 
reading it carefully, I saw a puzzled and troubled look 
on his face. After a few moments of study he said 
to me : 

" Evans, I don't know what to do. Can you assist 
me? They have made a mistake and have given me the 
wrong rank in this degree." 

Of course, it must be changed, corrected rather, and 
it was a delicate thing to suggest to the faculty of 
Harvard University that they had made a mistake! I 
knew that President Eliot had said, " Even the young- 

60 



At Harvard 

est undergraduate may make a mistake ! " But this 
was not the case of an undergraduate — of some one 
much higher, close up to President EHot himself — and 
it had to be corrected — and it was. 

Prince Henry wished to see how the students at 
Harvard lived. He wished always to see what he could 
of our home life; but this was, as a rule, impossible. 
He was shown some of the student rooms, but I was 
impressed with the fact that they were rooms of young 
men of means, as he was, and this did not interest him. 
At Annapolis and West Point he saw what he was 
looking for — all the rooms exactly the same, rich and 
poor alike. 

The official reception was held at the residence of 
Professor Miinsterberg, and it was an occasion long to 
be remembered. Those assembled represented the 
brains, the culture, and the wealth of Boston society. 
It was a wonderful gathering, worthy of the occasion. 
Prince Henry presented the beautiful casts sent by the 
Emperor in a very graceful, short address, and they 
were appropriately accepted. An hour was given to 
social festivities, and we returned to our hotel to pre- 
pare for a reception at the State House. Some of the 
social lights were amused during this reception to see 
the manceuvring of some of their best-known members. 
They were recognised leaders in society matters, and 
had evidently made up their minds that on this occasion 
they would play a leading part — be the observed of all 
observers. But how small a thing may change such 
social ambitions! I am not sure that the Prince knew 
just what was being arranged, but, whether he did or 
not. he certainly spoiled it all most completely. 

6i 



An Admiral's Log 

When the Prince entered the room he took a posi- 
tion quite away from the one he was expected to 
occupy, and when it was suggested that he change it 
he rephed that he was very comfortable where he was, 
and there he remained. From the look on his face, and 
one or two words to me later, I felt sure that Prince 
Henry understood what was going on and did not pro- 
pose to allow himself to be used in that way. 

At the State House the Prince was formally wel- 
comed by the governor and state officials and received 
by a handsome escort of state troops. After inspecting 
the much-discussed building and the beautiful Shaw 
memorial tablet in front of it, we returned to our hotel 
to make ready for the inevitable banquet that was to 
take place that evening. Up to this point everything in 
connection with our visit had been all that one could 
ask, even of Boston. 

During the early hours of the banquet Prince 
Henry referred to what he called our " speech-making 
habit." We certainly had been bored almost to death 
by the speeches that had been made to us, or at us, but 
in what country would it have been different ? He said 
to me: 

" What an extraordinary way of entertaining one's 
guest — sit him down and make speeches to him ! There 
is no chance for conversation. I find myself seated be- 
tween two charming gentlemen, but I am unable to get 
anything more than * Yes ' or * No ' out of them until 
after they have made speeches. Then they turn out to 
be entertaining, watty, full of knowledge and character, 
and I realise that before that they couldn't talk to me 
because they were conning their speeches ! " 

62 



A Boston Banquet 

This was, of course, perfectly true and, in some 
ways, much to be regretted ; but in what country is it 
different? I have attended many banquets in my life, 
in almost every country of the world, and I have found 
it the same everywhere. Sometimes the victims were 
not made unhappy by being told beforehand what was 
expected of them, but for important occasions it is a 
doubtful experiment to ask any, except a few recog- 
nised experts like Mr. Seth Low, Mr. Chauncey De- 
pew, and General Horace Porter, to respond to a toast 
without a chance for preparation. It has often been my 
fortune at banquets to sit next one or more of the 
speakers, and I have looked with pity at their perspiring 
faces while they took advantage of every spare moment 
to glance over and study the typewritten copy of what 
they were later to say, or rather what the morning 
papers would declare they had said. The remedy for 
this system of punishment, which really causes many 
able men to shun banquets, is not in sight. 

At this particular Boston banquet the speeches, as a 
rule, were unusually fine. They lacked the brusque 
Americanism which we had heard in the west, and 
which always brought more or less applause, but they 
were classical, finished, and witty, a little too much 
given to statistics, but generally fine. As each of the 
able speakers completed his task and resumed his seat 
the social air around the tables improved, and we were 
in a fair way to comfort and real enjoyment when we 
received a rude shock. A very distinguished man 
began his response to a toast. Everybody gave him 
close attention for half an hour or so, when interest 
seemed to flag. His voice was not as pleasant as it 

63 



An Admiral's Log 

might have been, and as time went on the long list of 
statistics lost their charm, and the whole company was 
in perfect sympathy against the man. We were simply 
bored to death, but no way of escape was open, and 
we had to sit still and bear it. It was one of the regular 
thirdly - fourthly - fifthly - in conclusion - and - one - 
word-more orations. The Prince caught Wilkie's eye 
and, with a twinkle in his own, slipped his hand into his 
breast coat pocket, where he knew the chief carried his 
gun. It was a suggestion to draw and shoot, and if 
Wilkie had been " up " on royal etiquette and had taken 
the royal wish for a command there would have been 
some decided democratic approval of justifiable homi- 
cide! All things must end, however, and eventually 
this banquet did. We were glad when the end came, 
because we were to attend a reception before the train 
left at two o'clock a.m. for New York. 

Prince Henry was naturally anxious to see some- 
thing of American home life, but up to this time he had 
not been able to visit a single private house. Mr. and 
Mrs. Montgomery Sears, of Boston, had kindly thrown 
open their beautiful home and tendered a reception to 
the Prince and his party. It was here that we spent 
the evening, or rather what remained of it, after the 
banquet. The change from the bustling hotel banquet 
room to the quiet luxury of this exquisite house was 
most striking. Everything was done in the former that 
could add to our comfort and that of the five or six 
hundred guests assembled, but here was all that wealth, 
culture, taste, and a long line of descent could produce. 
It was perfect, and we Americans of the party watched 
the Germans with interest while they inspected the rare 

64 



An American Hostess 

old books, manuscripts, and furniture in what must be 
considered a type of the best houses anywhere in our 
country. Later there was a reception for men, and then 
a delicate repast at which only four ladies appeared. It 
was here that the beautiful hostess appeared at her best, 
and made us all proud of the example of American 
womanhood. 



CHAPTER VIII 

PRINCE HENRY BIDS FAREWELL TO AMERICA 

Once more in New York, we found that the quar- 
ters on the Hohenzollern had to be vacated, as several 
cases of scarlet fever had broken out among the crew. 
This was most disconcerting and in many ways unpleas- 
ant, but there was no help for it. So we moved, bag 
and baggage, to the Waldorf-Astoria hotel, where we 
were made most comfortable. We sadly missed the 
privacy and dignity of the royal yacht, and had to 
resort to all sorts of tricks to keep the public from 
swamping us with their kindly meant hospitality. 
Cranks of all kinds infested the hotel corridors, and the 
force of detectives had to be largely increased to keep 
them from actually forcing their way into tlie private 
quarters of the Prince. One particular woman crank — 
and they are the worst, though not the most dangerous 
— kept us dodging in the most ridiculous way for more 
than two days ! She had some kind of invention which 
she carried about with her, as well as a description in 
verse of the same, and she was determined that Prince 
Henry should listen while she described the invention 
and read the verses. I tried hard to have her expend 
her energy on me, but I was not the game she was 
after; did not carry guns enough. For two days and 
nights Prince Henry and I moved lively, so to speak, 

66 



At the University Club 

to find a new elevator each time we entered the hotel, 
for the lady always knew the last one we had used and 
was watching it to waylay us. A kind-hearted detec- 
tive finally induced her to give up her quest, and was 
soundly abused for brutality in so doing. The good 
woman actually on one occasion sat all night in the cor- 
ridor waiting for us. Many people could not under- 
stand why we could not give her the time she wanted. 
She was only a sample of many hundreds who haunted 
the halls and doorways of the Waldorf-Astoria, and the 
days were not long enough for us to gratify them all. 
Of the many entertainments extended to Prince 
Henry in New York, he probably enjoyed the dinner at 
the University Club more than any other. The de- 
mands on the committee and the influence brought to 
bear upon them by the persons wishing to extend such 
courtesy were most surprising and hard to meet. The 
Prince expressed a desire to dine with the University 
Club, which had then just occupied its wonderful new 
club-house on Fifty- fourth Street, and the dinner was 
one to be remembered. The food was most delicate, 
the wines rare, and the company select. There was no 
speech-making, only a short address of welcome, no 
newspaper correspondents, but some of the finest music 
heard during the entire trip. Among other singers, we 
listened to Mr. Burleigh, a coloured man, who sang 
old southern melodies, to the intense delight of the 
Prince and his suite. The meal extended far into the 
night, and was followed by a short reception for the 
large number of club members who could not attend 
the dinner. It was after this entertainment that one of 
the distinguished German officers said something to me 

67 



An Admiral's Log 

that has caused me much thought many times since. 
Admiral von Tirpitz, Minister of Marine, was observ- 
ing the men as they passed, when he suddenly turned to 
me and said, with considerable excitement : 

" Why, you have developed a new type of men in 
this country. I do not see German faces here, nor 
Spanish, nor French faces. You have developed a new 
type of men. Your university men are a new class 
entirely ! " 

Since then I have thought that I could recognise the 
back of an American university man, even though I saw 
him in the wilds of Africa or the jungles of the Philip- 
pines. 

Admiral von Tirpitz and I, naturally, had many 
professional talks, and the memory of them is a delight 
to me to this day. At that time the German navy was 
doing nothing about submarine boats, and when I 
asked him why he replied : 

" We can't afford it. We can afford the money, 
but not the brains. We think we can utilise our mental 
energy to better advantage in developing fighting ships 
for the supremacy of the sea." 

Could any but a profound thinker have given utter- 
ance to such a sentiment? It was in striking contrast 
to our methods, for when we began the building of 
our new navy, we first designed and built a despatch 
boat which almost wrecked the administration in power 
before we could accept her! 

One of the most notable entertainments given 
Prince Henry during his stay in New York was by the 
Captains of Industry, as they were called — the million- 
aires or men of great wealth. The banquet was served 

68 



With the Captains of Industry 

in the Metropolitan Club, and everything that money 
and good taste could do was done to make it success- 
ful, and it certainly was most brilliantly so. A tele- 
gram was sent to Kiel in the morning, asking the name 
of the Prince's favourite flower, which proved to be the 
gardenia, and when we entered the banquet room and 
were seated there was a large bunch of these beautiful 
flowers at his place, and boutonnicres of the same for 
all the guests. Later, when the ladies entered and occu- 
pied the galleries, each one wore gardenias. When the 
coffee had been served, much to our surprise, we found 
that there was to be no speech-making, but instead the 
room was filled with the sound of most interesting con- 
versation. Men of leading, even commanding, posi- 
tion, such as J. P. Morgan and Charles M. Schwab, 
the latter then president of the United States Steel 
Company, were in turn presented to his Royal High- 
ness, and he pumped them to his heart's content. It 
was a most enjoyable evening, and gave him the oppor- 
tunity he had sought for serious conversation with men 
who could answer the questions he put to them. The 
perfume of the flowers prevailed above the smoke of 
several hundred cigars, and the Prince several times 
smilingly acknowledged the compliment of the gar- 
denias. From this date until he sailed gardenias were 
in great demand in New York at a most ridiculous 
price. I recall buying one of these plants in Japan once. 
It had over two hundred flowers or buds, and cost me 
one dollar and thirty cents ! 

The Press Club entertained Prince Henry at a ban- 
quet given in the Waldorf-Astoria, where twelve hun- 
dred men were seated at the tables. During the even- 
6 69 



An Admiral's Log 

ing ladies were admitted to the galleries, so that the 
room contained at one time nearly two thousand per- 
sons. It was a notable event, and brought together 
many distinguished men, Carl Schurz being one of 
them. Many speeches were, of course, made, and they 
were, as a rule, well worth the time given to them. 
Mr. Seth Low was by general consent the ablest, and 
certainly the most polished, orator of the evening. 
Prince Henry made a great impression by the wit and 
humour of his response, which was greatly applauded. 
Up to this time few people knew how perfectly he read 
and spoke the English language. 

One of the first requests made of me when the 
Prince arrived in America was that I would, if possible, 
give him an opportunity to hear some of our old south- 
ern melodies — not the new " rag-time " horror, which 
he detested, as most musicians do, but the real thing, 
sung by native negroes. In order to meet his wishes 
as far as possible, I wrote to Booker T. Washington 
and the authorities at the Hampton Institute, and was 
fortunate enough to secure the services of the Hamp- 
ton singers as a body. They came to New York and, on 
an evening set aside for the purpose, sang for the Prince 
and those who had been invited to join him. The music 
was beyond criticism, and we all thoroughly enjoyed the 
evening, but particularly was this the case with Prince 
Henry and his officers, nearly all of whom were trained 
musicians. 

During an interval in the singing his Royal High- 
ness asked me to present Dr. Washington to him, which 
I very gladly did, and the two were engaged in an 
interesting conversation for more than ten minutes. 

70 



A New York Private Dinner 

The man who had demonstrated to the world the value 
of education for the masses — real education, industrial 
education — was evidently of much interest to this stu- 
dent of economic questions and master of his profes- 
sion as a naval officer. Several of New York's leading 
men of affairs watched the meeting between the two, 
and when it was over expressed some surprise at the 
ease with which the coloured man bore himself. It was 
more readily understood, I think, when I reminded 
them that Booker T. Washington had been presented at 
more courts and had dined with more crowned heads 
than any other American then living. 

Before the singers withdrew, a young Sioux Indian, 
in whom the Prince was much interested, gave us a 
song in his native tongue. It was curious, but lacked 
the melody which made the negro songs so touching. 

As Prince Henry had visited one private house in 
Boston, it seemed only right that he should also visit 
one in New York. The committee had difficulty in 
finding the necessary time, but finally succeeded by 
doubling up two entertainments and giving them both 
in the same evening. Of the many invitations pressing 
upon him, the Prince accepted that of Mr. and Mrs. 
Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr., for whom he expressed great 
admiration, particularly for Mrs. Vanderbilt, who, as 
he expressed it, " had helped her husband to be some- 
thing besides a millionaire." The weather on the day 
of the luncheon was simply " poisonous," as an English 
friend of mine called it, but the good cheer and hospi- 
tality of the beautiful home soon made us forget all 
unpleasant things, and we thoroughly enjoyed the de- 
lightful repast prepared for us. Many of the ladies were 

71 



An Admirals Log 

disappointed because they could not have German offi- 
cers as escorts, but they had to console themselves with 
the fact that they had at least lunched with Royalty, 
which was more than could be said by many of their 
less fortunate friends. Mrs. Vanderbilt was the charm- 
ing hostess she always is, and the refined air of her table 
was in striking contrast to that of many of the ban- 
quets we had attended. The spirit of hospitality was, 
of course, the same in all of them, and was thoroughly 
appreciated — it was the difference between an Ameri- 
can home of wealth and the wealth of American hotels 
or clubs. 

Prince Henry's visit to Philadelphia was somewhat 
marred by the fact that only a few hours could be spent 
in that city. We had a long ride to the shipyard of 
the Cramps' shipbuilding company, where the well- 
known hospitality and courtesy of that company made 
us feel at home. The Prince was much interested in 
the Russian cruiser Retvizan, just then nearing comple- 
tion, which was to play such an ineffective part later 
on in the war between Japan and Russia. A short visit 
to the old State House, or Independence Hall, where 
his Royal Highness reviewed a number of the German 
veterans of the Franco-Prussian War, and a short 
luncheon at the Union League Club, marked the con- 
clusion of the trip, and we returned to our comfortable 
quarters at the Waldorf-Astoria. 

From a professional standpoint, the two most inter- 
esting trips were probably those to Annapolis and West 
Point. These two national universities were naturally 
objects of deep interest to the visitors. They were 
glad to see how the midshipmen and cadets were fed, 

72 



At Annapolis 

clothed, housed, and discipHned, but far beyond all this 
was the matter of education and training. These mat- 
ters received the most careful attention, and every one, 
from the Prince down, was enthusiastic about Annapo- 
lis, and probably also about West Point, though I per- 
sonally heard no criticism of the latter institution. 
Such would probably have been made to officers of the 
army, if at all. At Annapolis the weather was very 
bad during the visit, and the mud shoe-top deep and 
soft, but the midshipmen were paraded, and every nook 
and corner of the academy received the careful scrutiny 
of the keen-eyed German experts. Our system of edu- 
cating young officers as shown at Annapolis differs rad- 
ically from that of other countries, and particularly 
from that of Germany. It was not to be expected that 
Prince Henry and his officers would give unqualified 
approval to our system — indeed, many officers of our 
own service think it could be improved. For one thing, 
the Germans could not understand how officers so edu- 
cated could control enlisted men on board ship, when 
such control was not practically a part of their educa- 
tion during their four-year term at the academy. I tried 
to explain this to them as well as I could, but I fear 
made little impression, because the kind of men to be 
controlled differs so widely in the two services that no 
common ground could be found on which we could 
stand. Many, if not the majority, of foreign officers 
believe that our discipline is not what it should be. 
This is because of their want of knowledge of our sys- 
tem, and particularly of the character of our enlisted 
men. We, on the other hand, feel that the absolute and 
unthinking obedience of their men, which is the result, 

73 



An Admiral's Log 

in great part, of class distinctions, would be entirely 
out of place with us, even if we felt that it would pro- 
duce efficiency. I have watched and studied this ques- 
tion with deep interest for more than forty years in our 
own service and others, and I am satisfied that for us, 
with our form of government and the character of men 
now composing our enlisted force, we have the best sys- 
tem in the world. For others I can see that it might not 
succeed. I recall vividly my experience one Fourth of 
July in the harbour of Tsingtao, China, when we were 
entertaining the officers and men of the German fleet. 
All day we had races and athletic games, managed by 
the men of the four ships composing our squadron of 
which I was the commander-in-chief. In the evening 
the men took charge of the boats, which were beauti- 
fully illuminated, and, while the German officers were 
dining with our officers, proceeded, with bands of music 
and much song and cheering, to serenade the German 
ships, one after another. As the column of boats, filled 
with happy, contented, well-behaved men, passed my 
flagship the German admiral asked me how many offi- 
cers I had in the boat, and when I replied that there 
was not a single one a curious look came into his face, 
and he said, " I don't think we could do that with our 
men." It was always my custom when in command to 
give the men just this kind of liberty, and then hold 
them responsible for good conduct. In other words, 
our effort is to make our men self-respecting and obedi- 
ent for their own sakes, and not because of the presence 
of their officers. 

At West Point we had snow and piercing cold 
weather instead of the rain and mud of Annapolis. The 

74 



At West Point 

drill plain was covered with a beautiful blanket of 
untracked snow about eight inches deep. In the centre 
of this had been placed a broad platform, on which we 
were to stand while the cadets passed in review, and as 
we approached it, our feet heavy with the clinging 
snow, Prince Henry stopped suddenly, turned to me 
and said : 

" Please have those things removed. I object seri- 
ously to them ! " 

The camera habit, one of the most annoying nui- 
sances of modern times, had followed us through the 
west, but we had not expected to find it at West Point. 
Of course, I conveyed the Prince's wishes to the com- 
manding officer immediately, but unfortunately he had 
granted permission to place the instruments in position, 
and we stood in the snow for some time while the 
matter was being adjusted. Finally some officer of 
robust physique bundled the whole gang out of the 
way, and we took position for the review. Despite the 
snow and the heavy overcoats, the cadets marched by in 
the perfect manner so characteristic of the splendid 
corps. After a charming reception at the house of the 
superintendent, the German officers inspected the cadet 
quarters, mess hall, and recitation rooms, and then wit- 
nessed horseback riding and athletic exercises in the 
gymnasium. The military officers of the Prince's party 
found much to admire at West Point, but in a general 
way thought their own military methods better suited 
to their purposes. Here, again, as in the case of 
Annapolis, racial differences and conditions must be 
considered before passing judgment. 

The royal yacht Hohenzollern, by reason of the 

75 



An Admiral's Log 

fever on board, was no longer of use, and took her 
departure for Kiel, via St. Thomas. Her officers and 
crew had made many warm friends in New York on 
account of their uniformly good conduct, and when she 
left, the docks were crowded with people to wish her a 
safe and pleasant homeward voyage. 

The last days of Prince Henry's visit were dread- 
fully crowded; but he, nevertheless, found time to dis- 
tribute the many handsome presents he had brought 
with him. So careful and thoughtful was he in this 
matter that every person who attended him, even to the 
porters who served him on his car, received some sou- 
venir of his visit. As the time came for him to sail, on 
the Deutschland, of the Hamburg-American Line, his 
staff had to work night and day to pack and ship the 
large collection of things he had received. But so com- 
plete was the organisation of the party, and so able the 
individual units, that nothing was neglected, nothing 
forgotten. 

My opportunity to give Prince Henry a personal 
entertainment of some sort came at last, when I had 
about given up all hope of such a pleasure. The com- 
mittee somehow managed to find time for a luncheon, 
and I gave it at my club, the University, on Fifty- 
fourth Street. Covers were laid for forty, and the 
party included the Prince and all his people, a fair rep- 
resentation from each branch of our committee, and a 
selected number of personal friends from the club. The 
chef was at his best, and after our coffee Prince Henry 
expressed himself in words of praise for the club, 
which, he declared, met his ideas perfectly of a " Uni- 
versity Club.'* For the luncheon, he was good enough 

76 



Prince Henry's Visit 

to say that it was one of the most enjoyable of all the 
entertainments he had had in our country, particularly 
because it had been given by an old personal friend. 

I have often been asked the question, " Why did 
Prince Henry visit this country, and what were his 
impressions of it and of our people?" In answering 
this I can only give my own personal views, as I never 
heard any official expression on the subject. Friendli- 
ness was the key to the spirit and significance of the 
whole visit. The launching of the yacht built in this 
country for the Emperor was the opportunity for show- 
ing it. It may be that the very unpleasant sentiment 
aroused in this country by the action of the German 
naval force in Manila Bay during the Spanish-American 
War, and the feeling that Germany was determined on 
securing a coaling station somewhere in the West India 
Islands, had produced an effect which it was necessary 
and desirable to remove. The feeling on the part of 
our people, which was well known, had naturally pro- 
duced a feeling of irritation on the other side far from 
friendly, and, as I have said, a desire to remove this 
and re-establish the cordial relations which had existed, 
and which were most natural between the two coun- 
tries, may have had its influence. If this be true, it 
certainly was a most happy move on the part of the 
Emperor, judging by the results. 

Another reason for the visit, certainly a most nat- 
ural and laudable one, was a desire on the part of his 
Imperial Majesty to know more of the home life of the 
country that was drawing so heavily for its population 
on the Fatherland. How could he learn this in any 
other way so well as by sending his able, alert, and 

77 



An Admiral's Log 

accomplished brother to look the land over and then to 
give him his personal impressions ? And, in order that 
his impressions might have full weight, he selected and 
sent with his brother a body of men the like of which 
has never come to us from any other country. Of the 
impressions produced on this body of able and distin- 
guished men by their visit to our country and their 
intercourse with our people I can only give my personal 
opinion, backed by their very frank expressions. They 
seemed greatly pleased with most of the things they 
saw and heard, and deeply interested in others. Per- 
sonally they expressed themselves, as of course they 
would, as overcome by the greatness and vastness of 
our country, and most grateful for the courtesies ex- 
tended to them on all sides. What they reported offi- 
cially to his Majesty on their return may never be 
known. If it ever is, I feel confident that the spirit of 
the report will not differ materially from their words 
to us. 

It goes without saying that the Emperor of Ger- 
many and all the people of his great country must have 
felt pride and satisfaction over the treatment accorded 
their representatives by the people of the United States 
from the moment when the Meteor took the water, in 
the presence of the President and christened by his 
daughter, to the day they left our shores, followed by 
the good wishes of cheering thousands. Such a wel- 
come from the masses of our population, as well as 
from the leader, had never before been given to any 
foreign representative, and the people of Germany, all 
over the world, must have felt the significance of it. 
A friendly visit conceived in a spirit of real interna- 

78 



Prince Henry's Farewell 

tional friendliness had produced the happiest results, 
and we were all heartily glad that it was so. 

Before sailing, Prince Henry gave a farewell dinner 
on board the Deutschland. All those who had accom- 
panied him on his trip were present, and enjoyed an 
hour of familiar conversation, where true feeling found 
its way to the surface. Each one was toasted by his 
Royal Highness, and then, in a few heartfelt words, 
he expressed his warm personal thanks for the service 
we had done him. There was real sentiment in what 
he said, and we all felt it. As the representative of the 
navy, I said in reply when he toasted our service : 

" Prince Henry and brother officers of the German 
service: representing the navy of the United States, 
I say to you that we are glad you came, we are 
sorry you are going, and we hope you will come again. 
It gives me pleasure to grasp the friendly hand so cour- 
teously extended to us across the North Atlantic." 

The grasp that I received across the table convinced 
me that there was strength of muscle as well as friend- 
ship behind it. 

Good-bye to you, Prince Henry, and all your gal- 
lant comrades. Good luck and happiness to you all. If 
you should unhappily be involved in war with some 
other country, I miss my guess if your enemy doesn't 
find the German navy a hard nut to crack. 

When the Deutschland sailed I returned to my 
home in Washington, weary and short of sleep. I 
found my own bed so much more comfortable than the 
one in the sleeping car that I remained in it, insensible 
to the outside world, for forty-eight hours ! 



CHAPTER IX 

ORDERED TO THE ASIATIC FLEET 

After the close of the Spanish-American War, I 
had been fortunate enough to secure duty on the Light- 
house Board and had been elected its chairman, a posi- 
tion of dignity and responsibility. In former years I 
had served in every position an officer could fill under 
the board — inspector of a district, twice naval secre- 
tary of the board, and twice as a member of the board. 
Now that I was elected its chairman, I felt that I could 
render good service because of my experience in these 
various positions. 

Aside from going to sea, in command either of a 
ship or a fleet, duty on the Lighthouse Board is the 
most desirable that a naval officer can have. It is 
independent, pleasant duty of the most responsible and 
important character, and, while more or less confining, 
it leaves time for an officer so inclined to enjoy life in 
the open air. Above all, it enables one to acquire a 
knowledge of our coast and inland waterways second 
only to that of the best pilots, and this may result in 
time of war to the great benefit of the country, as well 
as to the officer concerned. There is no position in 
which an officer can acquire more knowledge which 
may be of great value to him, than as inspector of one 
of the sixteen districts into which our coast and inland 

80 



Chairman of Lighthouse Board 

waters are divided. As chairman of the board, it became 
a part of my duty to inspect all these districts and make 
suggestions for the improvement so necessary for the 
greatest efficiency, and I enjoyed it most thoroughly. 
It was often my good fortune to have the President 
and other high officials of the government accompany 
me on my inspection trips, and it was a great pleasure 
to point out to them the good work being done. I re- 
call one trip when I had the President and the Secretary 
of the Treasury with me. The Lighthouse Board was 
then a part of the Treasury Department, but the Secre- 
tary, I think, was not aware of the fact until after we 
had started! During the trip we experienced some 
very bad weather, and our work was done with diffi- 
culty and some danger, but done, all the same, without 
a word of complaint from the men. Afterwards I 
heard the President say to the Secretary. " This is a 
branch of the government service in which I think the 
people get one hundred cents' worth for every dollar 
expended ! " He was exactly right in his estimate. 
After a hard struggle, we had succeeded in entirely 
eliminating politics from the service, and, as its affairs 
were administered by selected officers of the navy and 
engineer corps of the army, it was only reasonable to 
expect that high state of efficiency and honest adminis- 
tration which those officers always exact. 

Two years of this most agreeable duty was, how- 
ever, all that I could reasonably expect under the circum- 
stances. There was a feeling throughout the country, 
particularly in the navy, that our flag officers were not 
doing as much work as they should; in fact, that they 
arrived at flag rank at such an advanced age that they 

8i 



An Admiral's Log 

could only do a year or two of service before they had 
to pass on to the retired list. How much truth there 
was in this idea I do not care to discuss here. Later 
on I may take it up. In my own case there was no 
room for question as to my duty, and certainly none 
as to my inclination. I had been favoured by unusual 
advancement, so that I reached flag rank at an age 
when I had seven years still to serve before retirement, 
and it was clearly my duty to spend those years at sea, 
if the Navy Department thought me worthy and would 
allow me to do so. My personal preference was always 
for duty afloat. The Secretary of the Navy was good 
enough to grant my request for detail to command the 
cruiser division of the Asiatic Fleet. The necessary 
orders were issued, making me second in command 
under my old friend Rear-Admiral Frederick Rodgers, 
then our commander-in-chief in the East. These or- 
ders were received before the visit of Prince Henry, 
and as soon as he left us my command of the special- 
service squadron, organised for his reception, ceased, 
and I prepared for more serious work. 

That the success of any commander depends very 
largely upon the conduct and support of his assistants, 
those who execute his orders and give him advice when 
asked, is a fact not always acknowledged, but a fact of 
vital importance all the same. This is true of the 
smallest command, and equally true but of greater im- 
portance as the size of the command increases, because 
of the greater range and value of the work of the larger 
command. There are, of course, instances where a 
strong man, a genius, let us say, has succeeded, despite 
the half-hearted support, or even opposition, of those 

82 



Conditions in the East 

under him, his subordinates; but history records few 
such cases, and even in these we can only surmise how 
much greater the success might have been had the 
support been more loyal. It seems to me clear, with- 
out any argument on the subject, that the commander- 
in-chief of a large naval force cannot expect the success 
his country has a right to demand of him unless he has, 
in the first place, proper and able men in his staff, and, 
in the second place, unless these men give him loyal and 
efficient support and advice when such advice is asked. 
The best results can be secured only when every officer 
and man gives to the efforts of the commander-in-chief 
his loyal and hearty support, his life, if need be, and 
the work of his staff must go a long way toward secur- 
ing for him the feeling in the fleet which ensures this 
condition. Without a long search we can find many 
dismal failures for the want of such support. 

Conditions in the East were such that it seemed 
probable that we might, at very short notice, be called 
upon for hard service, and this was, of itsel-f, a strong 
attraction for work in that part of the world. To 
thinking men it was clear that war between Russia and 
Japan was only a question of time, possibly a very 
short time, and the position we should have to assume 
when the struggle came and how seriously we might 
become involved were most interesting questions. Our 
great Secretary of State, Mr. John Hay, had, with the 
consent of the President and the approval of the people 
of the United States, taken a position with reference to 
the question of an " open door " for our trade rights in 
China that might, at any moment, bring us into actual 
collision with Russia. Indeed, it was only a few 

83 



An Admiral's Log 

months later that a Russian officer of rank said to me, 
referring to a note that Mr. Hay had just addressed to 
the Russian government on the Manchurian question, 
" Such a note from any country, except America, to 
my country would bring an instant declaration of war," 
I chose to regard this as a compliment to our diplomacy, 
but I felt quite sure it was otherwise intended. 

Having in mind my own comfort and reputation, as 
wtII as the interests of the service, I looked about me 
among the officers available for those to serve on my 
staff. I was fortunate in securing the detail of the fol- 
lowing : Lieutenant F. L. Chapin, an ordnance expert 
and an officer of recognised ability and standing, as flag 
lieutenant; Lieutenant Thomas Washington, an officer 
well versed in law and the department routine, as well as 
an " all-round man " of hard common sense, as my flag 
secretary; and Lieutenant F. T, Evans, a fine, athletic, 
ambitious young officer, whose knowledge of seaman- 
ship, boats, and handling men was remarkable for one 
of his age, as aide and signal officer. Thus equipped 
with assistants, I felt that I could look forward to a 
fair measure of success in my new field of work. 

There are periods in a man's life when luck seems 
to run his way, and this was the time that I could fairly 
claim that it was coming my way. The long, trying 
separations from my family which had necessarily fol- 
lowed my extended sea service had been a great hardship 
in my service afloat. The idea of two or three years' 
more of absence from them was anything but attractive, 
and fortunately for me was not to be experienced. My 
luck had turned and good fortune came my way. One 
of my daughters was married to a naval officer who was 

84 



On the Way to Japan 

on duty as naval attache to the legation at Tokio, and 
I should be able to see her occasionally. My wife and 
younger daughter consented to go out with me, pro- 
vided they could be located in the city with the daugh- 
ter and sister, and this was arranged. Then my son 
and his wife joined the party, so that later we were able 
to have a Christmas dinner in the Japanese capital 
where every member of my immediate family was 
seated at the table. Modern means of transportation 
have greatly relieved the hardships of naval life in one 
respect, at least — an officer can now have the comfort 
of seeing his family occasionally without too great dis- 
comfort or expense for them in the journey. Formerly 
this was not possible, and many officers spent one- 
third or more of their time away from their growing 
families. 

When all our plans had been arranged, transporta- 
tion secured, and trunks checked, we left Washington 
on April I, 1902, a merry party, bound to Yokohama 
by way of San Francisco. I must not fail to mention 
here that my faithful servant, George Duff, who had 
been with me in the New York at Kiel, was with me, 
and that his loyal and faithful service was to help me 
through many trying hours in the years to come. 

The ease and comfort with which we crossed the 
continent were truly wonderful. At Chicago we 
changed, left the Pennsylvania Railroad, and, after din- 
ing at the Auditorium Hotel, took our seats in one of 
the fine cars of the well-equipped Santa Fe Railroad, 
and never left it, except sometimes for our meals, which 
were supplied by the Harvey system, which for comfort 
and luxury is not known on any other railroad in the 
7 85 



An Admiral's Log 

world. It certainly was a great surprise to pull into 
an artistically designed station in the Arizona desert, 
where the eye could not detect a spray of anything 
green, where the sun fairly baked the brains in one's 
head, and to find oneself served with a delightful meal. 
This was our experience on many occasions; indeed, 
I may say it was always the case as long as we were 
in the hands of the courteous officials of the Santa Fe 
Railroad. 

The Palace Hotel was our home in San Francisco 
for the few days we remained there, and here again we 
were most comfortable and courteously looked after. 
The old house is gone now, tumbled down by the great 
earthquake, and the remains destroyed by the fire which 
later swept over the city. New and gorgeous hotels 
have been built at great expense, such as the Fairview, 
and a new Palace Hotel occupies the site of the old 
one; but none of them can ever have the traditions 
of the old place. New San Francisco will no doubt be 
a wonderfully beautiful city, and its hotels and clubs 
far ahead of the old ones, yet they can never hope to be 
as attractive to those of us who have known both. 
This will be of little importance, however, for in a few 
years there will remain only those who know the new. 
The fine new steamers of the Northern Pacific road 
had not been completed at the time, so we had to 
cross the Pacific in a ship flying the English flag, 
which was not to the liking of a party so entirely 
American, but there was no help for it. We must 
either go in the Gaelic of the O. & O. Company, or sub- 
mit to a long delay and then go to sea in a ship that 
we knew would not be as comfortable for us. So we 

86 



An English Passenger Ship 

embarked in the good ship GaeHc, commanded by Cap- 
tain Finch, as cheery a skipper as ever sailed under the 
blue ensign of Great Britain, which flew because the 
ship was commanded by an officer of the English Naval 
Reserve. That he was most capable and efficient, in 
every way qualified to care for the safety and comfort 
of his passengers, all those who have sailed with him 
will be glad to state. Our own flag having been prac- 
tically driven from the Pacific by our archaic and unjust 
navigation laws and the sharp competition of subsi- 
dised foreign lines of steamers, we were compelled, as 
I have stated above, to sail under the English flag. 
This gave me the opportunity I had long desired to 
study the system under which these subsidised steamers 
were run and the service on them of officers of the 
Naval Reserve, the latter being the matter of greatest 
interest from a professional standpoint. 

The Gaelic was manned by a Chinese crew, most of 
whom never left her for a moment, except in a Chinese 
port where they had family or friends. Their food was 
essentially Chinese and prepared by Chinese cooks. 
Each man was allowed a certain quantity of opium to 
smoke if he wished it, not in any case enough to injure 
him, and all were allowed to gamble, after the Chinese 
national fashion, during certain hours of the day. 
Everything was done, in other words, to keep these 
men in the condition in which they would ordinarily 
find themselves when employed on the coasting lines or 
in the large ports of their own country. The result was 
a happy, contented crew, who liked their ship better 
than the shore, regarded her as their home, and re- 
mained in her from year to year, gradually working up 

87 



An Admiral's Log 

to higher places, and ahvays having in mind the inter- 
est of those who employed them. The sight of a " fan- 
tan " outfit spread on the decks of this ship during the 
meal hour, and a dozen or more Chinese sailors gam- 
bling for cash, seemed perfectly natural to me, for I 
knew from experience what it meant to those who were 
doing it and what would result from any attempt to 
stop it. Such amusement on a ship under the American 
flag would be impossible, no matter how good the re- 
sults obtained might be. Our " reformers " would 
have fits even at the suggestion of such a thing, and, 
rather than have it actually tried, they would go to the 
same extent they went in the matter of the canteen for 
army posts — injure the men involved to a lamentable 
degree in order to uphold a theoretical fad of their own 
against the vote of over ninety per cent of those who, 
from long experience, knew what they were talking 
about. 

Most of the officers of the Gaelic were officers of 
the English Naval Reserve, and were liable to be called 
to the colours for service in time of war. They were a 
fine lot of well-educated men, and I have never known 
a ship better disciplined or better kept. It was a real 
pleasure to go to sea under such conditions. My only 
regret was that the ship, and many more like her, could 
not fly the American flag. 

In order that these officers of the Naval Reserve 
may keep themselves in proper training, they are al- 
lowed certain privileges. In the first place, the ship 
commanded by one of them is allowed to fly the Eng- 
lish blue ensign, which naturally attracts passengers 
and freight, for it is a guarantee that the ship is well 

88 



The English Naval Reserve 

commanded. It also carried other advantages which 
need not be mentioned here. While anchored in any 
port where there is an English man-of-war present, 
these Reserve officers may, if time permits, present 
themselves to the commanding officers of such ship and 
take their tour of drill and duty. They must receive at 
least thirty days' drill in each year. If they receive 
only a few days at one port, this is credited to them on 
their papers over the signature of the captain who di- 
rects the drill, and when they have thus received the 
necessary thirty days they can draw their pay for the 
year. The same rule applies to enlisted men. The 
whole scheme, the result of many years' experience, 
gives to England a splendid body of reserve officers and 
men to be called on in time of war. As far as I know, 
it is the best of all the schemes now being tried for the 
same purpose. When we are older as a nation and, 
maybe, have been roughly handled in one or two naval 
engagements, we may come to this or some similar 
plan. It does seem unfortunate that we should have to 
wait for this experience when we could avoid it by fol- 
lowing either the example of others or taking the 
advice of able officers of our own service. 

Our run from San Francisco to the Hawaiian 
Islands was pleasant but uneventful. We ate our four 
meals per day, took the usual amount of exercise on 
deck, sympathised with those who were sick, and 
greatly enjoyed the luxury of hot salt-water baths in 
large marble bath tubs. There was also a large canvas 
tank provided on the upper deck under the forward 
bridge, where those so disposed could have a real swim. 
We arrived off the bar at Honolulu early in the morn- 

89 



\ 



An Admiral's Log 



ing, but the customs officer could not be disturbed 
before eight o'clock, so we rolled about until that hour 
arrived, notwithstanding the fact that we had a large 
mail and fifty or sixty passengers for the place. Cap- 
tain Finch took the matter more coolly than some of his 
passengers, and when I asked him why he did so, re- 
plied that if he made any protest about it the collector 
would manage to keep him waiting three hours instead 
of two! Feeling that the department in Washington 
would not approve of the leisurely methods of the col- 
lector, which held passengers and United States mail 
waiting while he finished his breakfast, after eight 
o'clock A.M., I sent in an official letter detailing the 
occurrence and protesting against what I considered an 
outrage. Some months afterwards I received a reply, 
written by a clerk in the Treasury Department, for- 
warding the reply of the collector. It was a short but 
very characteristic letter and, I must say, amusing. 
The collector assumed in his reply that " the gallant old 
admiral " had eaten something that disturbed his diges- 
tion, and advised that he be requested to confine his 
attention to naval matters, and not to comment on 
things that were no business of his! It is astonishing 
how soon a certain class of our paid servants assume 
to be our bosses, and act accordingly. 

Upon landing in Honolulu our party was taken in 
hand by a number of kind friends, who gave us a most 
delightful day. We were driven through the charming 
little city out to the Pali for the view — certainly one of 
the most remarkable and fascinating in the world. If our 
travelling rich class knew of the beauties of the Sand- 
wich Islands, I am sure many of them would cruise on 

90 



Lunch with Prince David 

the Pacific two thousand miles to Honolulu rather than 
the same distance across the Atlantic. After visiting 
some of the most noted viewpoints and one or two of 
the sugar estates, we lunched with Prince David and 
his beautiful Princess, and were introduced to some of 
the native dishes, which we found delicate and savoury. 
The manner of eating these dishes was, however, a 
matter of surprise. One of the favourite breakfast or 
luncheon dishes is poi, a sort of porridge, or sticky- 
mush. It is prepared from the bulb of a species of lily 
grown on the island, and is considered a healthful arti- 
cle of diet. It is known as " two " or " three finger 
po'i," according to whether it is thick enough to be 
eaten with two or requires the use of three fingers of 
the hand instead of a spoon or fork. The natives never 
use anything except their fingers. No one can deny 
that the sight of a pretty woman eating poi with two 
delicately shaped white fingers, which she knows well 
how to use, is an attractive sight, but the same cannot 
be said for the man with large, brown, muscular fin- 
gers. It is even worse when a stranger to the custom 
attempts this mode of feeding, for he (or she) invari- 
ably smears his entire hand and a portion of his cloth- 
ing with the sticky mass. As to the flavour of the poi, 
when I first ate it, it seemed to me about the same as 
that of some paste I once tasted which was being used 
by workmen who were papering a room. After some lit- 
tle practice, I found it quite possible as an article of food. 
I can recall, even at this late date, the first time I ever 
ate clams at a clambake — somehow I managed to fill 
my mouth with sand and the stringy skin that seemed 
to enclose the clam. When a pretty, refined young 

91 



An Admiral's Log 

woman prepared the clams and dropped them into my 
mouth I found them exceedmgly good. So it was with 
poi ! 

Fish prepared by a native Hawaiian cook is one of 
the most dehcate dishes ever put on a table. The favour- 
ite is a mullet which abounds in the waters about the 
island. It is rolled up in a large, savoury loaf, and then 
baked and served hot. I found it perfectly delicious, 
but before I had eaten half as much as I wanted I 
found my hands covered with grease up to my wrists, 
and I had to resort to soap and water before I could 
complete my meal, which I did with a fork, much to the 
amusement of my native friends. Of all the meat 
dishes, roast pig, or pork, is the favourite. It is roasted 
or baked in a pit dug in the ground, filled with wood 
and stones, after the fashion of our eastern clambake, 
and fired. After the ashes and most of the stones are 
removed, the whole pig is substituted. The pit is then 
covered carefully, and the heat in the ground cooks the 
flesh. The natives eat astonishing quantities of this 
most savoury food, and with it consume many very hot, 
fresh red peppers, which they gather from the pepper 
tree, always in evidence in every part of the islands. 
There are traditions that dog was once much liked pre- 
pared in the same way. While I make it a rule always 
to taste the foods of the various countries I visit, I 
think I should draw the line at dog. The memory of 
faithful old hunting companions would make it seem 
too much like cannibalism. 

The fruits of the Hawaiian Islands are, of course, 
tropical, but of great variety and abundant in quan- 
tity. We were fortunate in finding them in great pro- 

92 



Hawaiian Fruits 

fusion and enjoyed them, not only during the time of 
our stay on shore, but for many days after saihng. The 
papaya, a fruit resembHng a melon, is the one most 
used. It grows on a tree and is in season all the year, 
one part of the tree blooming while on other parts the 
fruit is ripening. In colour it is golden yellow when 
ripe, is about the size of a large cantaloupe, and con- 
tains more pepsin than any other fruit or vegetable 
known ; hence it is a favourite breakfast fruit. With the 
possible exception of the Philippine mango, which has 
not been introduced into Honolulu, it has no superior 
among the tropical fruits. " Alligator pears " grow in 
abundance, but are not equal to some of the varieties 
grown in the West Indies. Guavas grow wild all over 
the islands, but, curiously enough, we never found 
guava jelly, the natives preferring to use the fruit while 
fresh. 

In the evening, when the Gaelic was ready for sea, 
we had an opportunity to observe a custom — I may say 
a beautiful custom — not known elsewhere in the world. 
The native women or girls prepare from the highly col- 
oured and scented flowers of the island ropes or gar- 
lands of flowers, and with these they decorate their 
friends before they embark, stringing the beautiful 
things about their necks and shoulders and around their 
waists. When we reached the deck of the ship the 
members of our party looked as if they had taken first 
prizes in a flower show, covered as they were w^ith 
" laais," as they call these strands of flowers. In our 
state-rooms we found quantities of carnations and other 
sweet-scented flowers. They were, however, all com- 
mitted to the deep a few hours later, when the ship 

93 



An Admiral's Log 

began to roll and the air ports had to be closed. The 
air in all the cabins soon became oppressive with what 
had been, a few hours before, a delicate and delightful 
perfume; now it was offensive to those unfortunates 
who suffer from seasickness. I have often noticed that 
those who were afflicted with this unpleasant and 
peculiar complaint object seriously to anything that 
smells of the land — most of them, in fact, object to 
everything in the nature of odours. 

The people of the Hawaiian Islands, and particu- 
larly those of the city of Honolulu, have always been 
noted for their hospitality to our officers and men. In 
the old days, when we policed the Pacific, Honolulu 
was the favourite port for giving liberty to the men and 
replenishing the supply of fresh water and vegetables. 
Generally speaking, a ship could run out to the islands 
with a fair wind and, after spending a few months, 
during which time there were balls, dinners, picnics, 
and shooting parties for one to enjoy, could return 
under the same favourable weather conditions. The 
weather, comparatively speaking, was always good 
after you were once clear of the Pacific coast, and you 
could rely on these conditions until you again ap- 
proached it on your return. Many of the old people of 
Honolulu and a few naval officers still living and on 
the retired list will recount to you by the hour the 
doings of the dear old days before steam and modern 
guns took all the poetry out of our profession, when 
the officers flirted, danced, and drank to their hearts' 
content without fear that the Navy Department would 
know of their performance. There was in those days 
no cable nor wireless system by w^hich people in Wash- 

94 



A Commodore of the Old Days 

ington could tell every hour of the day just what those 
in other parts of the world were doing. One of the 
stories often told, especially by some of the surviving 
officers, though I have heard it from an old resident of 
Honolulu, is of one of our officers, a commodore, who 
never failed to visit the islands when he could find the 
least excuse for doing so. He was fond of good din- 
ners, and particularly of good wine. On one of his 
visits he and all the officers who could be spared from 
duty were entertained at a splendid banquet. One of the 
peculiarities of this commodore was that he always car- 
ried a large blue umbrella when visiting the shore. In 
the small hours of the morning, after much eating and 
drinking, the old man took his departure, followed by 
his officers. Oh the way to his boat he had to pass 
through a public square in which a very large fountain 
was playing all the time, and, passing too near it, felt 
its falling spray. He immediately stopped, hoisted his 
umbrella, and stood still in his tracks, and, when his 
officers came up, hailed them. " Pretty sharp shower, 
gentlemen. Heave to until it blows over! " Of course 
they " hove to " clear of the spray, where they re- 
mained until one of them persuaded the commodore 
that the shower was local, and that if he would haul by 
the wind on the port tack he would soon pull out of it. 
This he did, and the umbrella came down. A book 
could be written of such stories, but this one will suffice 
here. 

The Hawaiians are, I believe, loyal to the new flag 
that flies over their land and still have for the navy 
much of the affection which they showed for it in the 
old days, notwithstanding the fact that our officers and 

95 



An Admiral's Log 

men were landed, on a very doubtful pretext, at the 
request of an ambitious minister, and took part by force 
of arms in a revolution which was still unborn. Such 
conduct on our part might have led to the bitter feeling 
shown for us by the Cubans and Filipinos, in whose 
behalf we made so many sacrifices. That it did not so 
result is a fortunate fact which a wiser head than mine 
may account for. 

During one of my visits to Honolulu I was invited 
to a hunting party to shoot plover. We found the 
birds in almost incredible numbers, very fat, and of fine 
flavour when served. They were at once recognised as 
the " beetle " plover, or black-headed plover, a migrat- 
ing game bird often found in considerable numbers 
on the Pacific coast and sometimes on the Atlantic 
coast of the United States. Upon studying the matter 
more closely, I found that they left our coast some- 
where to the north of San Francisco, and in one flight 
— there was no resting place for them en route — made 
the Sandwich Islands, a distance, as the crow flies, of 
about twenty-three hundred miles. They always started 
with a northeast or northerly gale, and thus secured 
a fair wind most of the way. After remaining on the 
meadows of the islands for about three months, where 
they became very fat, they started on the return trip, 
waiting always for a strong southerly wind to help 
them on their way. The " beetle " plover is a strong, 
rapid flyer, about the size of a blue rock pigeon, but 
without my experience at Honolulu and subsequent 
study I would not have believed that he was capable of 
such a protracted flight. 

Our trip from Honolulu to Yokohama was pleas- 
96 



A Good Swimmer 

ant in every way, but dreadfully lonesome. The sur- 
face of the Pacific was like the proverbial mill pond 
most of the way, until we approached the coast of 
Japan, when it was rough enough to suit the oldest 
" salt " on the ship. During all this long run we did 
not sight a single vessel of any kind or description, 
which made the story of one of our soldiers who fell 
overboard from a transport the more remarkable. The 
transport was conveying troops from San Francisco to 
Manila, when the man fell overboard at night and was 
not missed for several hours. When his absence was 
discovered, the ship was stopped and search made, but 
of course the man, being then many miles astern, was 
not found. Being a good swimmer, the soldier, on 
finding himself in the water and the ship disappearing 
in the distance, made up his mind to swim as long as he 
could before giving up hope. After keeping himself 
afloat for some time, he found a piece of driftwood 
which was large enough to sustain his weight, and on 
this he rested. Some time during the following day he 
was picked up by a Japanese fishing schooner, probably 
the only vessel within a radius of many thousand 
miles. The transport went on her way and reported 
the loss of the man, who was later landed by the 
schooner at Nagasaki, where he caught a steamer for 
Manila, and in due time reported to his regiment. Of 
course, I don't vouch for this story, but this is the way 
it was told to me. If ever a man was justified in buy- 
ing lottery tickets, certainly this soldier was the man, 
for, with his luck, he could not invest his spare change 
in any other way and hope for so large a return ! 

Captain Finch made a fine landfall, or, in other 

97 



An Admirals Log ^'^ 

words, was accurate in his navigation, and we entered 
the beautiful bay of Yokohama on the day and at the 
hour scheduled before leaving San Francisco. We had 
enjoyed eating fresh meat, fresh fruit, and fresh oys- 
ters every day of our trip, and in the cold-storage 
rooms of the Gaelic were enough fresh oysters remain- 
ing to last to Manila and then back to San Francisco. 

We made the trip from Washington, D. C, to the 
entrance to the harbour of Yokohama between April ist 
and April 27th, with two days' delay at San Francisco 
and one at Honolulu, and had never had one ration of 
salt food offered us except by request. The quantity 
of pure, fresh water furnished us was without limit, and 
clear, crystal ice was always ready when called for. All 
this was a great surprise to me, for on my former 
cruises I had lived generally out of " tins " and drunk 
water that was frequently red with iron rust and ropy 
with sediment. Instead of ice water, we were glad to 
cool the allowance served out to us in a clay jar, called 
a " monkey," which was porous and when hung in the 
wind cooled the water it contained by evaporation. 
Of course, we always had the navy ration of pork and 
beans and salt beef, or " salt horse," as it was called, 
but these did not seem attractive when compared in 
memory with the fine cuts of fresh beef and mutton 
supplied on the Gaelic. The wonderful improvements 
in the comforts of sea life by the introduction of cold- 
storage processes was clearly shown on this cruise, and 
I have no doubt that in a few years the luxury of ship 
life will be so great that it will be impossible to make 
people believe the true story of Hfe in the old days. 



CHAPTER X 

IN JAPAN 

' During the afternoon of April 27th we entered the 
beautiful bay of Yokohama, but we saw little that was 
attractive because of the weather — it was raining in a 
steady downpour, with more or less of fog. It was clear 
enough, however, for one to see the great changes that 
had taken place in the defences of the channel. Where 
formerly a few old smooth-bore guns were in position to 
dispute the passage of an enemy's fleet, modern high- 
powered twelve-inch rifles in great numbers now 
frowned down on us. Battery after battery of these 
guns could be seen, and we knew that many others, per- 
haps even stronger, were concealed. It did not look 
like anything in the nature of a picnic or holiday per- 
formance to take a fleet past them unless the Japanese 
were willing to have one do so. After passing the 
outer batteries I was looking about, trying to locate the 
position of the wreck of the United States sloop-of-war 
Oneida, which had been sunk in this vicinity about 
thirty-five years before. She was run down by the 
British merchant steamer Bombay and carried to the 
bottom, with over two hundred officers and men. 
While thus engaged I sighted what at first appeared to 
be two islands, one on either side of the channel and 
not far from it. I knew, of course, that there were no 

99 



An Admiral's Log 

islands there — at least none when last I passed out of the 
bay many years before. A close inspection as we ran 
by them showed that they really were artificial islands, 
and on each was a fort of great defensive power. I 
had read of these forts, and was interested to see what 
they amounted to. They proved to be of stone and 
concrete construction, and commanded the channel so 
perfectly that it would be practically impossible for a 
fleet to pass until they had been destroyed or silenced. 

The question of how these batteries had been con- 
structed was particularly interesting to navy men, for the 
reason that we had urged that the same kind of defence 
should be adopted for the entrance to Chesapeake Bay, 
between Capes Charles and Henry. Our engineer offi- 
cers had always decided against the scheme, and gave 
many reasons for so doing, the principal objection being 
the depth of water in which the foundations would have 
to be laid. In our case this depth is something less than 
forty-two feet. In the case of the Japanese forts it was 
one hundred and fourteen. Judging from what I after- 
wards saw of the Japanese engineers, I feel sure they 
would have built the fort in four hundred feet of water 
if it had been desirable to do so. That the officers of our 
engineer corps are as able as those of any other coun- 
try in the world every one who has had dealings with 
them will gladly admit. If they have fallen behind the 
Japanese in the matter of harbour-defence works, we 
may be sure there is some good reason for it, and it 
might be that the manner of supplying funds and actu- 
ally doing the work will furnish this reason. When 
the Emperor of Japan is satisfied by the advice of his 
officers that a fort should be built to defend a certain 

lOO 



Our Coast Defences 

point, or that a number of battleships should be con- 
structed, he gives the order to have it done. Parlia- 
ment finds the money as it is required, and the w^ork 
progresses rapidly to completion. Labour and material 
are much cheaper in Japan than they are with us, and 
the patriotism of the people is such that they would 
even supply both without compensation were it nec- 
essary. Who ever heard of " shoddy " clothing or de- 
fective ammunition in the Japanese army or navy dur- 
ing the late war between that country and Russia? 
And who has not heard of these same disgraceful things 
in the wars of other nations? Any one who will take 
the trouble to look into the matter will find that the lack 
of proper coast defences in the United States cannot be 
charged either to the President or the officers of the 
corps of engineers. 

After hundreds of reports had been made pointing 
out the necessity for such work, and many plans sub- 
mitted showing how and why it should be done, Con- 
gress finally appointed a committee to consider and 
look into the matter. After years of looking and con- 
sidering, they reported, practically adopting the plans 
which had been before them all the time. Then, after 
a few years' more consideration, enough money was 
appropriated to begin work on a few forts, which, as a 
rule, were located near the cities large enough and 
strong enough politically to force compliance with the 
demands of their representatives. The small amount 
of money thus appropriated was soon expended, the 
work stopped, and the machinery used in construction 
left unemployed until another appropriation, when it was 
found that it required a considerable sum to again put it 
8 lOI 



An Admiral's Log 

in working order. Each year the Secretary of War 
submits an estimate for funds, carefully prepared by 
the chief of engineers, and one or two committees of 
Congress take charge of it. Sometimes they refuse to 
make any appropriation, at other times they cut the 
estimate in half, and so the work drags slowly along 
from year to year. It is scarcely necessary to remind 
the reader of the results of the patriotic and persistent 
effort of the late President of the United States in the 
matter of new battleships. It may be that Japanese 
methods would not suit us. Be that as it may, she has 
complete and efficient coast defence, and we have quite 
the reverse. If our enemies had dared to attack us in 
the past as hers did Japan, I have no doubt our condi- 
tion in this respect would be far different from what 
it is. 

The first thing that struck me on entering the har- 
bour of Yokohama was the wonderful change that had 
taken place there since I last visited the city. Even 
through the drizzling rain and fog it looked new and 
much improved. The large amount of money which 
had been returned to them by the United States had 
been used by the Japanese in constructing a fine break- 
water, which makes the port one of the safest and 
most comfortable for shipping of any on the coast. In 
former years a hard gale of wind would play havoc 
with all vessels, large and small, anchored here, because 
of the heavy sea that came rolling in from Yeddo Bay. 
Now it was entirely different. The breakwater, cres- 
cent shaped, enclosed a large area, and behind it the 
water was always smooth and safe. No matter how 
hard the blow, or how bad the sea outside, behind 

1 02 



Arrival at Yokohama 

this protection all vessels and boats were safe. Only 
merchant ships were allowed to use the inner anchor- 
age, because of its limited area, and at the time 
of our arrival it was so crowded that there was hardly 
room for another vessel. All men-of-war were com- 
pelled to anchor outside the breakwater, which was no 
hardship, as they were always under steam and ready 
to take care of themselves in case of danger. When a 
ship was under repairs, however, this rule was not en- 
forced. 

It had been my good fortune, during a former 
cruise in the East, to be in Yokohama harbour when the 
first steam vessel ever owned by the Japanese govern- 
ment came in and anchored. Now I was to see how 
much advance had been made, and how many beautiful 
ships were owned, not only by the government, but by 
merchants as well. As a result of the liberal subsidy 
granted by the government, the Japanese flag flew over 
one of the finest fleets of merchant, freight, and passen- 
ger ships in the world. They were all built and owned 
under specifications which permitted of their use by the 
government if necessary in case of war, and this wise 
provision was to have a thorough, practical test before 
many years had passed. 

Upon inquiry I found that first-class passenger 
ships plied between Yokohama and the Pacific ports of 
Canada and the United States, commanded by Japanese 
officers and manned by Japanese sailors, and that well- 
conducted lines of first-class ships ran to all the Euro- 
pean and Mediterranean ports, officered and manned in 
the same way. To my great surprise, I found that the 
best ships for both freight and passenger lines were 

103 



An Admiral's Log 

being built in Japan by native labour and of native mate- 
rial. The cost of their construction was so slight that 
outside competition was impossible, either in building 
the ships or conducting the lines afterwards. The re- 
sult was that every port in China and Japan, in fact, in 
the entire East, had its line of Japanese merchant ships, 
all heavily subsidised by the government. It certainly 
was a marvellous change from what I had seen in this 
country thirty-five years before; and when we consider 
that in other branches the growth and improvement had 
been even greater than in shipping and water trans- 
portation, we are forced to admit that the wonderful 
progress of this nation has no parallel in history. 

In less than forty years they completely changed 
their form of government; established a sound financial 
system; organised an army and a navy second to none 
in the world in courage and efficiency; established dip- 
lomatic relations with all the world ; and sent their mer- 
chant vessels to every important port on the globe. 
What other people ever did so much in so short a 
time? 

When the ladies of my family had been landed and 
comfortably housed, I went at once on board my flag- 
ship, with my stafif, and on the following day, April 
28th, assumed command of the northern division of 
the Asiatic Fleet, afterwards known as the cruiser 
division. My old and valued friend Rear-Admiral 
Frederick Rodgers, the commander-in-chief of the sta- 
tion, was in the Philippines in his flagship, the cruiser 
New York, doing what he could to help the army in 
their efforts to reduce the Filipinos to a proper state of 
respect for the authority of the United States. He had 

104 



Assume Command 

made ample provision for my comfort before sailing by 
detailing for my flagship the fine new battleship Ken- 
tucky, commanded by Captain Stockton, an officer of 
exceptional ability, who afterwards served as my chief 
of staff. My order assuming command was published 
a few hours after I arrived on board, and then I found 
the days too short for the work I had to do. One who 
has never been through the mill can scarcely realise the 
vast amount of detail work an officer has to face under 
such circumstances. As time goes on and he gets the 
run of things and has a chance to study the history of 
what has been done and get in touch with the thousand 
and one things requiring his attention, the duty becomes 
easier and less exacting, until finally it is pure pleasure 
to perform it. 

The etiquette between officers of the navy and our 
civil representatives abroad is strict and punctiliously 
observed. Because of trouble in the past on this 
score many regulations have been framed, and they are 
carefully observed. Within twenty-four hours of as- 
suming command I called, with my staff, in full-dress 
uniform, on our minister in Tokio, informed him of my 
orders, paid my respects to him and his family, and 
requested that he take the proper steps to have me pre- 
sented to the Emperor and the officers of the cabinet, 
all of which he afterwards did with great courtesy. Then 
we went through the form of calling on the members 
of the imperial family by leaving cards at their houses. 
Then the same was done for all the foreign ambassa- 
dors. This consumed the entire day, and I returned to 
my flagship to wait for notice as to when I would be 
received by his Majesty the Emperor. I took advan- 

105 



An Admirars Log 

tage of this waiting time to inform the minister to 
China and Korea officially of having assumed com- 
mand, and then did the same for the admiral or officer 
in command of each foreign naval force in the station. 
This, with the detail work of my own command, made 
me wish that the days were forty-eight hours long in- 
stead of twenty- four! 

On May 2d his Excellency, Count d'Arco Valley, 
the German minister to Japan, on behalf of himself 
and the German residents of Tokio and Yokohama, 
tendered me a reception at the Germania Club, in Yoko- 
hama. The various diplomatic and consular represent- 
atives accredited to Japan, many Japanese officials, and 
leading foreigners of Tokio and Yokohama were pres- 
ent. All the American officers who could be spared 
from duty were present to show their appreciation of 
the unusual courtesy shown us by Count d'Arco Valley, 
which, though extended to me by name, was, of course, 
intended as a compliment to my country. The finest 
supper that Yokohama could furnish was served at mid- 
night, and when I left at 3 a.m., dancing was still in 
progress. This reception was the first echo of Prince 
Henry's visit to America and my service on his staff. 
It was repeated on every occasion during my tour on 
the station whenever I fell in with officers of the Ger- 
man government, either civil or military. Their cour- 
tesy to me was constant and unfailing, and extended to 
every officer and man under my command. I conceived 
for Count d'Arco Valley not only a feeling of great 
respect, but also of warm friendship. He represented 
his country with great dignity and force without, as 
far as I ever heard, giving offence or injuring the feel- 

106 



The Emperor of Japan 

ings of any one. He was a kindly soul, filled only with 
charity and love for his fellow-men. 

Our minister, Mr. Buck, having informed me that 
their imperial Majesties would receive me in audience 
on May 3d, I proceeded to Tokio with my staff on the 
morning of that day and at the hour appointed, and was 
received by the Emperor, and half an hour later by the 
Empress. All receptions at the Japanese court are most 
formal, and every point of etiquette carefully observed; 
but the grand master of ceremonies is so tactful and 
courteous that we passed through the ordeal most pleas- 
antly and without embarrassment. When I was pre- 
sented to his Majesty he extended his hand very cor- 
dially, and showed every sign of great friendship for 
the country I had the honour of representing. He was 
dressed in the full uniform of a field marshal of France 
— red trousers and blue coat, both heavily trimmed with 
gold braid, and his breast well covered with decorations. 
His clothes fitted him so badly that I was impelled to 
mention it afterwards, when I was informed that the 
reason for it was that his tailor when measuring him 
was not allowed to look at him, but had to get his 
dimensions by feeling for them, while his eyes re- 
mained fixed on the floor. This explanation would ex- 
plain the misfit, but I doubt the accuracy of it, because I 
believe his Majesty has too much good common sense 
to put up with anything so foolish. But it is quite 
possible that the aw^e and reverence felt for this won- 
derful monarch might prevent his tailor from using his 
skill and handicraft to the best advantage. 

After the ordinary assurances that one always re- 
ceives and gives on such occasions, " high esteem in 

107 



An Admiral's Log 

which his and your country are held," etc., etc., the 
Emperor said through his interpreter : 

" I understand. Admiral, that you were in Japan 
years ago. Do you find many changes? " 

" Yes, your Majesty," I replied, " I was here years 
ago, and I find everything changed except Fujiyama! " 

Fujiyama is the beautiful mountain, almost sacred 
to the Japanese, which stands in plain sight of Yoko- 
hama and Tokio. My reply seemed to interest as well 
as amuse him, and led to a pretty sharp cross-examina- 
tion. He wanted to know how I found things so 
changed, and I told him, beginning with himself as an 
illustration. I said : 

*' You will recall, your Majesty, that at the time of 
my former visit you were a youth, confined generally to 
a temple and regarded as a sacred being. Now you are 
Emperor of a great country, a constitutional monarchy, 
held in respect by all the world ; then Japan had a navy 
composed of a few old sailing ships, to-day her battle- 
ships are second to none in the world; then her army 
was divided into sections, or cliques, each one owing 
allegiance to some Daimio or Baron, and all dressed in 
grass clothing and armed with swords or pikes, while 
to-day she has one of the best-organised armies in the 
world, up to date in every detail, and wonderful in effi- 
ciency; then there was not a foot of railroad or a yard 
of telegraph or electric-light wire in all the land, while 
to-day your country is gridironed with railroads, gir- 
dled with telegraph lines, and your cities beautifully 
lighted by electricity ! " 

As I went on, his face was a study. Always a 
strong, rather hard face, it softened as he listened to 

1 08 



The Empress of Japan 

me, his eyes flashed, and he smiled with satisfaction at 
my description. My audience lasted about fifteen min- 
utes, and when it was over and I had backed out of the 
royal presence I felt sure that I had been talking with 
one of the greatest and strongest men I had ever met. 
At the time of which I speak he was deeply concerned 
over the relations of his country with Russia, which 
grew more and more strained each day. It was re- 
ported and believed that he worked eighteen hours out 
of every twenty- four, and I have no reason to doubt the 
statement. 

The officers of my staff having all been presented 
to the Emperor, we withdrew and were conducted to 
the apartments of the Empress, where we were most 
graciously received by her Majesty. The hand-kissing 
custom of so many foreign courts was not favoured or 
practised in Japan ; instead, I received a handshake 
from a very shapely and beautiful hand. I found the 
Empress a woman of great refinement, perfect ease of 
manner, so delicate in appearance and small of figure 
as to remind one of some fine piece of Dresden china, 
attired in a Paris gown of heliotrope brocade. The few 
words she exchanged with me gave me the impression 
that she had the same friendly feeling for us as had 
been so graciously expressed by his Majesty the Em- 
peror. The ill fit of the beautiful Paris gown worn by 
the Empress was accounted for in the same way as the 
baggy trousers of the Emperor. After a year in Japan 
I was satisfied that it was due to the fact that a tailor 
would not touch the person of either of their Majesties; 
that they looked at them, and then guessed at what the 
measurement should be! 

109 



An Admiral's Log 

After being presented at court, calls had to be made 
on each member of the cabinet. These were all most 
interesting, as they gave me a chance to see the men 
who were to play such prominent parts in the struggle 
with Russia, that was now rapidly approaching the 
point of diplomatic rupture between the two countries. 
At the war office I had the pleasure of meeting General 
Oyama, who later led the armies in the field. The 
Minister of Marine, Vice-Admiral Baron Yamamoto, 
had appointed an hour for my call, and after half an 
hour with him in his private ofiice he invited me to 
luncheon, where I found a number of the most promi- 
nent officers of the Japanese navy assembled to meet 
me, Admiral Togo being one of them. The conversa- 
tion during the time we were at table was of a general 
character, with very friendly references to Commodore 
Perry's expedition and its influence on Japan. After 
luncheon I had another short talk with Baron Yama- 
moto, in which he made it very plain to me that the 
course of aggression then being followed by Russia 
toward his country would, if persisted in, inevitably 
lead to war. He was very earnest, but, like all of the 
men of his nation, his face was absolutely without ex- 
pression, except now and then his eyes would blaze 
like a coal of fire. In every word and gesture he 
showed the spirit that afterwards resulted in the won- 
derful victories of the Japanese navy under his admin- 
istration. 

While all this official calling was being done — and 
it is astonishing how much time it takes — I was busy 
in my leisure moments arranging for a trip around the 
station to see by personal inspection just what the con- 

IIO 



The President's Instructions 

ditions were and how to better them. The Kentucky 
required docking, and, as the United States did not 
own a dock in the East that would take anything larger 
than a small gunboat, we had to rely on the good-will 
of others for our docking facilities. There was one 
private dock at Hong Kong, China, that would receive 
the Kentucky, but the bubonic plague was raging at 
that port, and I did not care to take the chance of infec- 
tion from that complaint if it could be avoided. A 
request was sent to our minister at Tokio that he obtain 
permission from the government to dock the flagship 
at the navy yard at Yokosuka when convenient for 
the Japanese officers to do so. The request was 
promptly granted, the ship docked, cleaned, and painted, 
and such repairs as were necessary made, the charges 
for the work being the same as they would have been 
for a Japanese ship. 

From the moment I took command of the squadron 
I had constantly in mind the last words spoken to me 
by President Roosevelt before leaving Washington. I 
had called on him to say good-bye, and, having in mind 
the conditions in the East, I asked if he had any special 
instructions for me. 

" Yes, sir," he replied. " Be sure every night when 
you turn in that your command is in better shape for a 
fight than it was when you turned out in the morning ! " 

Very simple and straight from the shoulder, surely, 
and from the look of his chin and the way his teeth 
came together I understood that he meant what he said. 
During all my command of that force and, later, a 
much larger one, I endeavoured to carry out these or- 
ders — the spirit of them at least. 

Ill 



An Admiral's Log 

The policy of scattering our ships about over the 
station never seemed to me a good one, except in the 
case of small gunboats for river service. At times, 
however, it was necessary to do so because of the de- 
mands of our diplomats, our missionaries, and Ameri- 
can interests generally. As a rule, I felt that it was 
most important, from every point of view, that the 
squadron should be kept together. There is no greater 
incentive to efficiency than the emulation that comes 
between officers and crews when several ships are in 
company, and, to my mind, if one ship can make a 
good impression, a squadron will make a much better 
and more lasting one. I was assured at the Navy De- 
partment, before leaving Washington, that this was the 
view entertained there, and that they wished it carried 
out as far as possible. 

The Kentucky was reported ready for sea, and on 
May 19th we left Yokohama and ran down to Kobe for 
three days, and then through the beautiful inland sea 
by way of the straits of Shimoniseki to Nagasaki, 
where we found the New Orleans, a sloop-of-war, or, 
more properly speaking, an unarmoured cruiser, pur- 
chased in England at the breaking out of the war with 
Spain. She was under command of Captain C, S. 
Sperry, and in excellent condition. 



CHAPTER XI 

THE GERMAN NAVAL STATION IN CHINA 

It had been my intention to spend a week or ten 
days at Nagasaki, but on my arrival I found Asiatic 
cholera of a very virulent nature among the natives on 
the water front, which determined me to go on at once 
to the new German naval station at Tsingtao, in the 
province of Kiaochao. There was much interest in the 
Navy Department as to what was being done at this 
point, and I felt sure that the German authorities would 
give me any information that I could reasonably ask of 
them. 

We arrived at Tsingtao on the 30th of May, after 
spending two days at sea manoeuvring the Kentucky 
and New Orleans in preliminary fleet work. Our re- 
ception was most cordial, and every one, from the gov- 
ernor down to the private soldiers, did all that was pos- 
sible to make us comfortable and to show their friendly 
feeling for us and our country. The German fleet was 
in port, and we had an excellent opportunity to witness 
some of their most interesting work. The admiral in 
command and the governor each detailed an officer of 
rank to conduct me over the entire reservation, show 
me what had been done, and to explain to me the plans 
for the completion of this great commercial port and 
harbour of refuge. They also permitted our intelli- 

113 



An Admiral's Log 

gence officers to go out on the railroad, which had 
been completed something over one hundred miles, and 
which would, later on, tap the valuable coal deposits 
and bring the fuel to Tsingtao. 

A short account of this German colony may prove 
of interest. During the. early nineties a German mis- 
sionary was foully murdered somewhere in the province 
of Kiaochao, on the Shantung Peninsula. Germany, of 
course, demanded immediate satisfaction, and Prince 
Henry was sent out there in command of a German 
squadron to explain just what kind of satisfaction 
would be accepted. After much diplomatic correspond- 
ence, backed on one side by a strong naval force, com- 
manded by a determined officer, who ranked the diplo- 
mats by reason of his relationship to his Majesty the 
Emperor, the negotiations were concluded, and the out- 
side world awoke to the fact that Germany had secured 
the lease of one of the best harbours in China for 
ninety-nine years. Human life is a valuable thing, and 
every government has the right to place such valuation 
on the lives of its subjects as may seem necessary to 
protect them. This they always do after the person is 
dead. It would seem, at first thought, that it would be 
a fairer proposition to state beforehand just what com- 
pensation would be exacted for each life taken. The 
other plan, determining what the compensation shall be 
after the death of the subject, has very decided advan- 
tages, however, for one side at least, and this was never 
more clearly shown than in the case of this unfortunate 
missionary. History, I think, does not reveal to us the 
life of any other man which was held at such a high 
figure ! It is quite possible that the killing of the poor 

114 



Naval Bases in China 

missionary was not so serious a matter as was the 
insult to his government, and in such cases the compen- 
sation demanded depends largely upon the needs of the 
insulted government in that particular locality. What 
was the thing most necessary to German interests in 
that part of the world ? 

England, as is well known, has two very important 
stations, or, in military parlance, bases, in China, and 
because of her vast commercial interests it was gener- 
ally conceded that she was entitled to have them. Hong 
Kong she owned outright and had fortified so exten- 
sively that it was considered the Gibraltar of the East. 
Then she held Wei-hei-wei, a Chinese port a short dis- 
tance south of Tsingtao, under a lease from the Chi- 
nese government, and used it as a naval base. It was 
not easily fortified — that is to say, the surrounding land 
was not advantageous for forts to defend the entrance. 
The English officers, one school of them at least, did 
not regard it as of much military importance. 

Russia owned one fine base in the far north, 
Vladivostock, but because of the heavy ice in the 
winter it was not of real practical value. For opera- 
tions in China it was absolutely of no value unless 
Russia were on friendly terms with Japan, because 
the latter controlled the intervening waters. Imme- 
diately after the war between China and Japan, and 
when the latter had clearly won Port Arthur and 
was entitled to hold it permanently, England, Ger- 
many, and Russia combined to prevent her doing so, 
and Russia got possession of the valuable and coveted 
port only because one of her torpedo boats proved more 
speedy than an English cruiser. Both were racing for 

115 



An Admiral's Log 

the port with orders to hoist the flag- and take posses- 
sion, but the torpedo boat arrived first, and when the 
cruiser anchored the Russian flag was flying over the 
place. 

Once in actual occupation, Russian engineers hur- 
riedly fortified the place, both on the land and water 
sides. Vast sums of money were spent in constructing 
forts which, viewed from the outside, seemed to war- 
rant the assumption that it was impregnable, but when 
the Japanese army, under the gallant Nogi, later on 
undertook its reduction this assumption was not borne 
out. Dalny, a port near Port Arthur, of which I shall 
write later on, was constructed at great cost, and would 
have proved of great value to Russian interests; but it 
fell with Port Arthur, and Russia again found herself 
without the ice-free port for which she had struggled so 
long. When and where she will make her next effort 
no one can say, but that present conditions, in that 
respect, are almost intolerable all must concede. If any 
nation, other than China, is to hold Port Arthur and 
Dalny, all fair-minded men will admit that Japan is 
the one because of the price in blood she has paid for it. 
Likewise, I think the historian of the future will claim 
that Russia was fairly entitled to Constantinople after 
her magnificent campaign over the Balkans against the 
Turks. If England had not interfered to prevent it, 
Russia would have settled down in her ice-free port on 
the Bosphorus, all the world would have been benefited, 
and the trouble that came afterwards over Manchuria 
might have been avoided. 

It was plain to all thinking men that Germany 
needed two things — a navy strong enough to protect 

ii6 



Germany's Concession 

her rapidly growing merchant marine, and fortified 
bases abroad from which she could operate effectively 
in case of necessity. A finely organised navy league 
promised to supply the first in the course of time, and 
the death of the missionary, or rather the manner of 
his death, was the entering wedge for the other. 
Whether this wedge will be driven home to its full ex- 
tent may depend somewhat upon the interests of other 
nations in the East. The Emperor recognised his op- 
portunity, and, as usual with him, acted at once by 
sending, as before stated, a strong naval force, com- 
manded by his brother, Prince Henry of Prussia, to 
demand ifrom the Dowager Empress of China the one 
thing he most desired — a naval station on the coast of 
China. The demand was eventually granted, the navy 
took possession, and then began the developments of 
the port of Tsingtao. 

The concession thus obtained was a most valuable 
one. Besides containing one of the finest and most 
capacious harbours in China, it included a large amount 
of territory, extending back nearly one hundred miles 
in the direction of valuable coal mines. Once in actual 
possession, the German authorities went to work in 
their usual thorough manner. Prince Henry and the 
Princess Irene established themselves in a temple in the 
Chinese village, where they lived for many months 
while the work of building forts, barracks, and officers' 
quarters went on. As these were completed, they were 
occupied by troops from Germany, and the place soon 
had the aspect of a fortified military camp. Heavy 
guns were mounted in forts at commanding points, and 
barracks of the most modern construction were com- 
9 117 



An Admiral's Log 

pleted capable of housing a large number of troops. 
While all this was being done the commercial features 
of the port were not neglected. Complete plans were 
prepared which provided for harbour facilities equal to 
any to be found east of Suez. A large stone break- 
water was projected and work on it begun. This was 
to enclose a large area of the inner harbour and render 
the landing of passengers and freight both comfortable 
and safe in any kind of weather. At the time of my 
visit this work and that on the docks was approaching 
completion, and I never saw finer construction any- 
where in the world. 

During the progress of these improvements friction 
developed between the soldiers and the natives, which 
led in the end to a conflict in which some of the soldiers 
were wounded and a number of the Chinese killed. 
This clearly showed that the boundaries of the conces- 
sion were too contracted — in other words, there was 
not room enough for both parties; more land must be 
conceded at once. This was granted, and the lines ex- 
tended in every direction except, of course, toward 
the water. The valuable coal mines mentioned above 
were included in the newly ceded territory and became 
the property of the German government. A finely con- 
structed railroad was at once built to these mines, and 
fuel from them was soon being delivered at Tslngtao. 

To show how complete the work of the new occu- 
pants was, I will give an example. The Chinese town 
of Tslngtao was located on the water front, as is the 
case with most fishing towns all over the world. The 
land thus held was wanted for the proper development 
of the new city, and It must, therefore, be cleared of the 

ii8 



The Germans at Tsingtao 

native houses, which were declared to be, and undoubt- 
edly were, unsanitary and a threat to the health of the 
entire community. A new site was selected for the 
Chinese town, about four or five miles away, excellent 
sanitary houses were built, a fine water supply was fur- 
nished, and a good road made to the port. Then the 
Chinese people, bag and baggage, were moved to their 
new homes and the old city razed to the ground. A 
few buildings, such as the temple in which Prince 
Henry had lived, were left standing, but all the rest 
were torn down, the debris removed, and a fine public 
park took the place of the once filthy Chinese town. A 
portion of the park was given up to a beautiful garden, 
in which, among other things, over one hundred thou- 
sand young trees of various kinds were planted. In 
addition, much of the land on the surrounding hills 
was utilised, until over one million trees had been 
planted. This part of China is devoid of anything like 
shade trees, but the thoroughgoing Germans intended 
to see to it that this condition was changed, and I wish 
them every success. 

In laying out their new city those in charge showed 
wonderful sense and judgment. Near the steamboat 
wharves ample space was left for warehouses and the 
like; then came the business portion for native mer- 
chants, and here great care was shown in the construc- 
tion of the houses, built by the government and leased 
to the tenants. Each one was designed to give plenty of 
light and fresh air and permit thorough inspection at 
any time ; then followed the business quarter for foreign 
merchants, where any one, under certain reasonable re- 
strictions, could build his store and conduct his business. 

119 



An Admiral's Log 

Farther along still came the residence district, and 
then on the water front, overlooking the most beautiful 
sand beach in China, came the site for hotels. Owing 
to its geographical position and fine climate, Tsingtao 
will attract a great many people from places south of it, 
such as Hong Kong and Singapore, in the summer and 
from places north of it in winter. It has, therefore, a 
fine prospect of becoming the greatest seaside resort in 
all the East. Its value as a naval base cannot be over- 
estimated ; its possession simply puts Germany in a bet- 
ter position for military operations than any other na- 
tion, with the single exception of Japan. The money 
spent at Tsingtao has caused much unfavourable com- 
ment from those politically opposed to his Majesty the 
Emperor, but, unless all leading professional minds are 
very wrong, the day will come when it will be plain to 
all that the indemnity exacted for the death of the 
missionary, and the subsequent development of Tsing- 
tao, was one of the greatest plays ever made by this 
giant among rulers, the Emperor of Germany. 

During our stay at Tsingtao we were allowed to 
inspect the rifle ranges on shore, where the troops were 
constantly at practice from daylight until sundown. 
Our ordnance officers obtained much valuable informa- 
tion in this way, but nothing bearing on their method 
of naval practice could be learned. They kept that a 
profound secret, and, of course, we could not ask them 
to give it away. We saw their great gun targets, how- 
ever, when they were towed in at night, and learned 
that all their firing was done at sea. The targets we 
had a chance to inspect did not show very severe pun- 
ishment, which was accounted for by the fact that only 

120 



German Naval Methods 

newly arrived recruits had been firing at them. As to 
how the range of the target was obtained, or the kind 
of sights in use, we could get no hint, which seemed 
curious to us, particularly in reference to the sights, as 
we kept ours on the guns, as a rule, where any one 
wishing to do so could examine them. They were so 
bad that we would have been glad to have any other 
navy adopt them ! Later, when this condition had been 
changed, we were as careful to conceal them as the 
German officers were to hide theirs. 

In the important matter of changing the crews, re- 
lieving the men whose term of service had expired, the 
admiral was kind enough to give me full details, and I 
found them of such interest that I reported them to the 
Navy Department. On leaving home, the crews of the 
German ships for the Asiatic station were so arranged 
that the time of half of each ship's company expired at 
practically the same time. A transport from home, 
each year, brought out the new men ; the fleet was 
assembled at Tsingtao; the transfer was made in one 
day, and the old men sent home. Thus each ship found 
herself with one-half her men absolutely without ship 
training, as they had come from barracks on shore, 
where they were mustered for their turn of compulsory 
military duty. Each new man, after reaching his ship, 
was placed in charge of his mate, or comrade, who 
proceeded at once to teach him the duties of his station. 
It was astonishing to see how' short a time was neces- 
sary under this system to bring a ship's company to an 
efficient state of drill. In our own service we have no 
such system — nothing to compare with it. In the English 
service the crew of a ship on the Asiatic station serves 

121 



An Admiral's Log 

three years, and is then required to scrape and repaint 
the ship and put her in first-class condition, when they 
are reHeved and a new lot takes charge. With us we 
simply discharge men, day by day, as their term expires, 
and send them home by mail steamer or transport. 
When the crew has thus been reduced, sometimes to a 
dangerous extent, the Navy Department, if it has the 
men to spare, sends out a draft, and the recruits are 
distributed among the ships most needing them. If the 
department happens to be short of men, which is gener- 
ally the case for foreign service, the captain struggles 
on with his short crew as best he can. Extra work is, 
of course, required from those on board, and this causes 
much dissatisfaction and growling. This may properly 
be called not a system, but a want of one, and compares 
most unfavourably with that of our German friends. 



CHAPTER XII 

TARGET PRACTICE AT CHEFOO 

We celebrated the Fourth of July at Tsingtao, the 
military and naval authorities joining heartily with us 
in doing so, and on the morning of the 5th sailed for 
Chefoo, China, where we arrived the following day. 
The French fleet was in port, and I found the Japanese 
residents in a state of excitement because the French 
flag was flying over one of the islands at the entrance 
of the harbour. Relations between Russia and Japan 
were growing more and more strained every day, and 
the sight of this flag indicated to the Japanese mind 
that the island was occupied in order to give assistance 
to Russia in some way. Captain Sah, of the Chinese 
navy, was in port in a fine cruiser, and he also saw 
some deep-laid scheme concealed under this flag. He 
called on me immediately, recited his fears, and asked 
me what action I was going to take in the matter, I 
told him that it was none of my business, and that I 
did not propose to take any action toward having the 
flag removed, but that I would find out what it all 
meant. So, when I called on the admiral, he explained 
that a few years before the body of a French sailor had 
been buried on the island, and that this was the reason 
for showing the flag, which was hauled down a few 
days later and a small one substituted at the head of 

123 



An Admiral's Log 

the grave. A trifling incident in times of excitement 
may cause serious trouble. 

Chefoo harbour, by reason of its location and facili- 
ties, had long been a favourite place for target practice, 
and many foreign fleets had used it for that purpose. 
There was no reasonable objection to this so long as 
the firing was done on the outlying islands, but when 
the targets were placed in the harbour it was quite an- 
other thing. At the time of our visit the French ships 
were firing from their anchorages, making the passage 
to and from the shore dangerous, and the Chinese au- 
thorities were unable to prevent it. As I was on my 
way to make an official call, the bullets flew over and 
about my boat in such numbers that I was compelled to 
change my course to avoid an accident. This, of 
course, brought a strong protest to the admiral, which 
caused the ranges to be changed, but the change was 
only temporary, for a valuable young officer was actu- 
ally killed on the bridge of one of our ships in this har- 
bour, a few years later, by a bullet from a French war- 
ship at target practice. This unfortunate accident will 
probably stop such practice in the future. 

The necessary authority to occupy one of these 
islands having been secured through the eff'orts of our 
consul, preparation was made for small-arm practice 
on a scale not before undertaken. Regulation targets 
were landed and ranges laid out for firing at distances 
up to one thousand yards, and all connected with the 
firing points by telephone. Tents were also landed and 
a camp established, so that men could remain on shore 
until their practice w^as completed, thus saving much 
valuable time. Both officers and men took the great- 

124 



Target Practice 

est interest in the work, and I think I may fairly say 
that this was the beginning that led eventually to our 
sailors beating all other arms of the service — marines, 
cavalry, infantry, artillery, and militia — with rifles and 
winning the national trophy, of which they are justly 
so proud. I had always been very fond of target shoot- 
ing myself with every kind of firearm, from a revolver 
to a tw^elve-inch rifle, and, once in a position of com- 
mand where I could do so, I determined to create the 
same interest in the officers and men if I could. 

At the close of the Spanish War it was evident that 
the hitting power of our guns was not what it should 
be, and I determined that, if the chance ever came my 
way, I would improve it, at least I w^ould make an hon- 
est effort to do so. The opportunity had now come, 
and I took advantage of it. How I did this I will try 
to make plain, but before doing so I wish to state that 
whatever success I achieved was due to the efforts of 
the able ofiicers on my staff and the hard-working ord- 
nance officers of the fleet rather than to anything I did. 
Without them I should undoubtedly have met with a 
miserable failure. Other commanders-in-chief who 
preceded me no doubt felt, as I did, the importance of 
such work, but the favourable conditions prevailing in 
my time were not so common in theirs. They worked 
hard and no good ranges were then available. 

After the close of the Civil War, in 1865, target 
practice in the navy gradually ran down until it came 
to be regarded as of little importance. The regulations 
required that we should have it so many times each 
year, and that we should follow certain prescribed 
forms in the firing and afterwards in reporting results. 

125 



An Admiral's Log 

There was no real interest in the work. The usual cus- 
tom was to throw overboard a barrel or raft showing a 
red flag, then steam around it and fire the allowance 
of ammunition, after which we went on our way, glad 
the practice was over. 

Most captains and all executive officers looked on it 
as a necessary evil, as it blackened the decks and the 
paintwork, broke more or less chinaware, and was gen- 
erally a nuisance. For other officers it was a time of 
discomfort; and they saw no real good in it. They 
were using the same old smooth-bore, muzzle-loading 
guns with which we had fought out the Civil War, and 
nobody took much interest in finding out how well or 
how badly they could shoot. A few Parrott cast-iron 
rifles were afloat, but so many of them had burst dur- 
ing the war, and so many good men had been killed by 
these accidents, that we had neither confidence in the 
guns nor affection for them. We were always glad 
when the last shot had been fired from one of them and 
nobody had been hurt. 

The sights in use at that time were the same open 
bar sights that we had always used, and in this respect 
we were no worse than the navies of the rest of the 
world. While the guns were being fired, an officer, sta- 
tioned at some convenient point on the ship, observed the 
fall of each projectile, and reported to the men at the 
gun whether it was good or bad. Sometimes it was " a 
good line shot, a little over " ; or " a good line shot, a 
little short " ; or " elevation good, a little to the right " 
or " a little to the left." How much to the right, left, 
short, or over was a matter of pure guesswork on the 
part of the observer. 

126 



In the Old Way 

The gun pointers were drilled to aim in the old way 
— that is to say, the gun was so trained that the sights 
would come on the target as the ship came to the top of 
the sea and began to roll toward the target. Firing 
on the " weather roll " it was called, and it was good 
practice in those days, because it ensured the shot a 
chance to hit the target on ricochet if it missed it direct. 
The gun was never pointed directly at the target except 
in a dead calm or when the wind was directly from or 
toward it; at other times it was pointed to the left or 
right of the target, according to the direction and force 
of the wind; the allowance to be made was a question 
for the gun captain to decide for himself. One often 
heard the division officer say, " Lay your gun about the 
length of a handspike to the right," or " Leave your 
sights open to the right." 

It was surprising to see how well men could point 
guns under such crude conditions and to note the num- 
ber of shots that went neither to the right nor left, but 
in line with the target, a few of them over and many of 
them short. Sometimes the target was struck, but gen- 
erally it escaped. The number of hits was about equal 
to the number of misses to-day. 

As the ordnance people began to give us new gims, 
the sights were somewhat improved, but it was a long 
time before we had anything that would to-day be 
called a moderately accurate sight. 

When some of the eleven-inch cast-iron guns had 
been lined with steel and converted into eight-inch 
rifles, and a few small breech-loading guns had been 
supplied, the rules for target practice were changed, 
more interest was taken in the work, but results were 

127 



An Admiral's Log 

still unsatisfactory, because the system was wrong. 
The target used was triangular, and the shots were 
plotted by the use of what is known as the T-square. 
Only the shots that actually struck the target could be 
accurately known, the T-square being too rough an 
instrument for fine work. Every shot that seemed to 
pass through what the target would have been had it 
been square instead of triangular was marked as a hit, 
and I am quite safe in stating that more than half the 
shots so marked were really misses, and should have 
been so marked. 

By following this very imperfect system of prac- 
tice our officers and men were deceived into believing 
that they could shoot fairly well ; and so they could, as 
compared with men of other navies who used the same 
kind of practice and shot at the same kind of targets in 
the same way. In reality all our shooting was very 
poor and inaccurate. But as new ships were built and 
commissioned, and more modern guns were supplied, 
things began to look brighter in this respect. 

When, finally, a few battleships became available, 
the accuracy of the new guns began to be appreciated, 
but we still held to the triangular target, with all its 
misleading results. More hits were made, because the 
guns and powder were better and the trajectory of 
the shot much flatter, but the shots near the upper part 
of the target which were supposed to pass through the 
corners of the square target — if it had been square — 
were still marked as hits. Even worse than this, how- 
ever, was the want of interest in officers and men in 
developing the hitting power of the guns. Target 
practice was still looked upon with disfavour, because it 

128 



Early Torpedo Practice 

soiled the decks and the paintwork and made people 
uncomfortable. 

During the summers of 1896 and 1897 the late 
Rear-Admiral Francis M. Bunce, then commanding 
the North Atlantic Squadron, began a system of target 
practice which proved of immense value to the service. 
He still retained the triangular target, but he took great 
pains to find out which shots really struck it. The 
whole squadron spent days on the target range, instead 
of hours, and it was made evident that we would con- 
tinue this practice until the commander-in-chief was 
satisfied with our performance. For the first time in 
our service torpedoes were given a fair trial at sea, and 
our surprise v^^as great when we saw how many unex- 
pected things this much-advertised weapon could do 
and how seldom we could make it strike the obstacle 
aimed at. We had in former years used the " spar tor- 
pedo," the " bag of powder on the end of a pole " with 
which Gushing so gallantly destroyed the Confederate 
ironclad Albemarle, 

I recall the surprise of a lot of Italian officers dur- 
ing a former cruise in a Spanish-Mediterranean port 
when I, as ordnance officer, fired one hundred and 
twenty pounds of powder from a water breaker, or keg, 
on the end of our lower boom. Orders were imperative 
that we must fire these torpedoes at certain stated inter- 
vals, and our captain enforced the order. On this occa- 
sion an Italian ironclad was moored next to us and 
very close. When I received the order I guyed the 
lower boom as far forward as I could, lowered the end 
of it well under water, and then touched the key of the 
battery. There was a tremendous explosion, and a 

129 



An Admiral's Log 

column of water and mud shot up two hundred feet into 
the air. When the smoke had cleared away, our lower 
boom was gone and the beautiful ironclad was covered 
with mud — and very foul mud it was — for more than 
half pf her length. It was like the old-fashioned Chi- 
nese throwing of " stink pots." Of course, we apolo- 
gised promptly, and then spent two days scrubbing the 
vile stuff from off our rigging. 

Admiral Bunce continued his target practice until 
a large amount of ammunition had been expended and 
the men became proficient in handling the guns, if not 
in hitting the target. To his persistence in this work 
and the general drill of the fleet I, and many other offi- 
cers, attribute our success in the Spanish-American 
War. 

At Santiago we thought our shooting fairly good, 
but learned later by the testimony of an expert before 
the Senate Naval Committee that it was disgracefully 
bad. Whether it was good, bad, or disgraceful, the 
fact remains that we destroyed the Spanish squadron 
in record time, and the impression among those en- 
gaged in the battle was that this complete destruction 
was the result of our good shooting. 

It is eminently unfair to compare our firing then 
with what we could do to-day. That it was as good as 
or better than any other service could have done at the 
time seems established by the very favourable reports of 
many foreign critics. 

When the Spanish War had passed into history, 
many officers of the navy became thoroughly aroused 
and deeply interested in this most important subject — 
the hitting power of our guns. Those who came under 

130 



Smokeless Powder 

my personal observation I shall mention by name. A 
great many hard workers in the cause of target practice 
did not serve under my immediate command, and I can- 
not, therefore, give them the credit due them, as other- 
wise I should certainly be glad to do. 

The use of smokeless powder for the navy became 
general immediately after the Spanish War ; during that 
conflict we had used it for the smaller gims only, and 
brown prismatic powder for the larger guns. During 
the practice which I had ordered as a part of the inspec- 
tion of the ships of the squadron at Chefoo, full service 
charges of smokeless powder were to be used with 
loaded shells, and I believe this was the first time such 
target practice was held in our navy. The introduction 
of the new powder had necessitated the resighting of 
all the guns, and the work had been done by the Ord- 
nance Department as rapidly as possible. The poor 
work turned out may have been unavoidable, but to 
those of us who had to deal practically with the sights 
it seemed as if they had better never have been made — 
they were either wrong in principle or defective in 
manufacture. 

The Kentucky was fortunate in having Lieutenant 
Carlos B. Brittain as her gunnery officer. He had 
given much time and thought to the subject of target 
practice, and was able and enthusiastic in his efforts to 
carry out the scheme I had outlined. She was also 
fortunate in having among her division officers Lieu- 
tenant Ridley McLean, one of the ablest gunnery offi- 
cers of the navy. These two, co-operating cordially 
with the officers on my staff, soon made it clear to me 
that I might expect a large measure of success. 

131 



An Admiral's Log 

The first thing to be done was to install some device 
by which the men, gun pointers and others as well, 
would have proper training in pointing a gun, and then 
to determine where the shot would strike if the gun 
were fired. This drill, to do any real good, must be 
had at least twice a day, and to fire the gun so often 
was out of the question; so a number of small guns 
called Flobert rifles were bought, with a plentiful sup- 
ply of ammunition for them. These small rifles were 
fixed to the turret and broadside guns in such a way 
that the training of the smaller guns trained the larger 
ones at the same time and in the same way. Thus, in 
order to bring the small rifle to bear on the target, the 
mechanism of the larger gun had to be used for the 
purpose. I had seen this done years before, and I con- 
sidered it very effective. 

The next step was to provide a suitable target, and 
this proved difficult. I requested Lieutenants Brittain, 
Chapin, and McLean to draw a diagram of a battleship 
which, when placed a few feet from the muzzle of the 
big gim, would appear like a battleship at a range of 
two thousand yards. They gave much time to the 
work, and when it was finished the target seemed very 
suitable, but we had to fire only a few shots at it to be 
convinced that it would not answer the purpose. One 
shot would destroy the entire end of the small battle- 
ship, and half a dozen shots completely destroyed the 
target, so we substituted a miniature great gun target, 
such as we would use in our regular target practice, and 
this proved satisfactory. Such a device is now used on 
all ships of the navy. These targets were then printed 
on tough brown paper and thousands of them were sent 

132 



The Ping-Pong Machine 

to each ship. Copies were also sent to the Navy De- 
partment. 

Having succeeded in the design, it was then neces- 
sary to mount the target in front of the gun for ser- 
vice. This was done by using a small spar, one end so 
secured that the outer end could move freely up and 
down and, at the same time, sideways. To impart 
these motions suitable pulleys were connected with the 
spar. Then on the outer end was placed the target, 
and behind this a suitable box to catch the bullets after 
they had passed through the paper. For want of a 
better name, we called this " the ping-pong machine," 
and it bears that name in the service to-day, though per- 
sistent efforts have been made from time to time to 
change it to " Morris tube," in imitation of the English 
device used for the same purpose. A few officers of 
our navy can see good only in things of English origin. 

It will be seen that by using the ping-pong device de- 
scribed above, a motion could be given the target which 
closely resembled the rolling motion of a ship at sea. 
Then, if the gun could be constantly trained on this 
target, we would get the same effect as if the real gun 
were being fired at a floating target. Orders were 
given that all guns should use the new device, or rather 
that all gun pointers should use it every day, and the 
best target made by each one should be forwarded to 
me the day following the practice. The old system of 
pointing on the weather roll was abandoned, and a new 
one, known as the " constant-aim drill," substituted, by 
which the sights were to be constantly kept on the tar- 
get, and the gun fired as often as it could be loaded. 

Every ship in the squadron was furnished with a 
10 133 



An Admiral's Log 

ping-pong machine, and to keep them going I pur- 
chased all the Flobert ammunition in the East, and 
directed the merchants selling it to send for more. The 
Kentucky alone fired five thousand rounds a day. 
Officers and men were most earnest in their efforts and 
enthusiastic over the work. Improvement was marked 
and steady, and all hoped for good results. In order 
that the Department might be advised of what I was 
doing, I sent to the proper bureau a large number of 
paper targets which had been fired at. 

One of the ships of the squadron, the New Orleans, 
purchased in England before the breaking out of the 
Spanish- American War, was armed with English guns 
and supplied with cordite charges. The command- 
ing officer of this ship. Commander, now Rear-Ad- 
miral, C. S. Sperry, was noted as an ordnance expert 
and an officer of great general ability. In addition 
to giving his men very thorough drill, he had rigged 
on his ship a machine known as a " dotter," which was, 
generally speaking, the same as the machine in the 
English navy used for the same purpose. In this de- 
vice a pencil point made a mark on the target, and thus 
took the place of the bullet fired from the Flobert rifle. 
This was the only one in the squadron and was fitted 
before I took command. 

Ping-pong machines were afterwards fitted for the 
New Orleans, as it was found that the gun pointers 
preferred them to the English machine. They wanted 
to hear the sound of the gun firing, and see the hole 
made by the bullet. 

On July 9th the New Orleans was inspected, and a 
part of her inspection consisted in firing her guns one 

134 



Results of Firing 

after another as rapidly as it could safely be done. A 
regulation size target was carefully whitewashed on the 
face of a rock, and the ship steamed up and down in 
front of it at a speed of ten knots, just as is done to- 
day, and fired until each gun pointer had exhausted his 
allowance. The accuracy and rapidity of the firing was 
promising and gave evidence of careful training. 

I remember well how the first shot from a six-inch 
gun knocked the bull's eye out of the target, and that 
one of the guns made fifteen consecutive hits. The guns 
and their mounts functioned well, but the four-and- 
seven-tenths-inch gims showed a tendency to jamb the 
breech blocks, which made the firing slow. The recoil 
of these weapons was very violent and often injured 
the men firing them. One man had his collar bone 
broken in this way. 

The Kentucky went on the range July 19th for her 
firing, and the results were in some respects startling. 
The five-inch guns did fairly well, somewhat better than 
the six-inch of the New Orleans, but the turret guns 
gave such bad results that I stopped the firing of them. 
The sights and their connections were so faulty from 
one cause or another that they jarred out of adjustment 
with each discharge. 

The fact that the gun pointers could shoot accurately 
and rapidly when supplied with proper sights had been 
fully established, and this had been done through the 
efforts of the officers I have named, Chapin, McLean, 
and Brittain being the leaders. Our success, such as it 
was, was due to their efforts and the system we had 
adopted, and was not in any remote degree the result 
of what had been done in any other navy. 

135 



An Admiral's Log 

I had never heard of the wonderful firing done by 
that excellent officer, Captain, now Admiral, Sir Percy- 
Scott, of the British navy, and I doubt if any one of 
my able assistants ever had. Certainly, if they had, 
they did not follow his methods, but worked out their 
own. Yet for all the good work they did, one never 
hears their names mentioned in connection with naval 
target practice. Lieutenant William S. Sims, who has 
since given much assistance and advice as inspector of 
target practice, was, at the time of which I speak, doing 
duty as a watch officer on the New York, flagship of the 
commander-in-chief. 

When the practice at Chefoo had been completed, 
ping-pong practice was again taken up, and much more 
time given to it than formerly. I quote the following 
from a letter received from an officer serving at that 
time under my command : 

" The principles of fast and straight shooting had 
been found and applied. Many hundreds of thousands 
of ping-pong bullets were expended on the Kentucky, 
and a large number on the New Orleans. As far as I 
know, there has never been such an era of ping-pong as 
was that in your fleet from September, 1902, to Feb- 
ruary, 1903, when all were preparing for the spring, 
now called the record, practice." 

Much comment and some ill-feeling have since been 
the result, indirectly, of this practice and one that fol- 
lowed it in a few months. Of the total number of 
officers in the navy only a small percentage was on duty 
in China, and they were about the only ones, outside 
those on duty in Washington, who knew of the good 
work we had done. When Lieutenant Sims returned 

136 




Commodore C. P. Sah, Imperial Chinese Navy. 



Captain Sah 

to the United States in the fall of 1902 he was as- 
signed to duty in the Navy Department as inspector of 
target practice. The newspapers were much interested 
in his fight with the Ordnance Department and gave it 
much notice, commending him for his good work. He 
was given credit for everything done in the way of 
target firing, though up to that time he had had nothing 
in the world to do with it outside of the particular ship 
on which he had been serving. The accuracy and rapid- 
ity of fire, the hitting power, of our guns had been 
established before he became inspector of target practice, 
as the records of the Navy Department will show, and 
he had no hand in it. The work was done by those I 
have mentioned and others to be mentioned later, and 
to them belongs the credit which has ignorantly been 
given to Mr. Sims. That he has done efficient work 
for the service is true, but he is not the only one; all 
of them should have the praise they deserve, and I am 
confident that Mr, Sims would be the last man in the 
navy to accept the credit for things done by his brother 
officers. He is not built that way. 

During our stay in Chefoo I came to know Captain 
Sah, of the Chinese navy, very well, and found him an 
officer of great tact and ability. He is now in com- 
mand of the Chinese navy. The cruiser he commanded, 
the Hai Chi, was the cleanest thing in the shape of a 
warship that I ever saw. From keel to truck she was 
in the pink of condition. Her decks were as white as 
snow, her guns in perfect order, and her crew in neat 
uniform and excellent discipline. When the Oregon 
ran on to the rocks between Chefoo and the Taku bar, 
during the Boxer troubles, the Hai Chi went at once 

137 



An Admiral's Log 

to her assistance, secured alongside of her, and did all 
in her power to aid her in getting afloat. The Russians 
had their eyes on the Chinese navy, and hoped, no 
doubt, to secure several of their ships by capture before 
the war was over. While the Hai Chi was employed in 
aiding the Oregon, a Russian cruiser hove in sight and 
remained at a distance cruising about. Captain Sah, 
convinced that she meant to capture him, reported the 
matter to the captain of the Oregon and asked his ad- 
vice, which was promptly given in the following short 
and simple words : " Hoist the American flag at your 
foremast-head, and let us see who will attack you ! " 
This was done, and the Russian ship went on her 
way. 

The ordnance officer of the Hai Chi was very anx- 
ious to witness the firing of the thirteen-inch guns of the 
Kentucky, and, at the request of Captain Sah, I took 
him out with me one day during our practice. He 
seemed thoroughly impressed with the accuracy of our 
shooting, which was fairly good only, because of the 
condition of our defective gun sights. When the order 
was given to fire the last shot from the forward thir- 
teen-inch turret, there was, for some reason, a hang- 
fire. The gun was kept trained on the target, and at 
the end of two minutes went off. The big shell struck 
fair in the centre of the bull's-eye and exploded with 
tremendous force, bringing down tons of stone. When 
the smoke of the explosion cleared away, all trace of 
the target had disappeared, and the face of the rock 
on which it had been painted showed only a good-sized 
cavern. 

" That was a wonderful shot ! " commented the 
138 



A Wonderful Shot 

Chinese officer. " It would have completely destroyed 
a ship!" 

I let him form his own conclusions — my mind was 
fully occupied with poor sights and missfires and how 
to get rid of them. 



CHAPTER XIII 

SUMMER HEADQUARTERS IN CHINA 

One reason for my visit to Chefoo was to look over 
the place and see if I could use it for a summer head- 
quarters for the fleet. It was necessary to find some 
suitable place where the fleet could assemble for drills 
during the summer months and give liberty to the 
crews. Especially was this necessary for the vessels 
of the Philippine division, whose crews were much re- 
duced in physique from long service in the tropics. 
Cholera and the plague prevailed in Manila to such an 
extent that liberty for the men at that port was rather 
a doubtful proposition, and above all they needed the 
bracing effect of this northern air. 

Chefoo is the summer resort for north China; the 
city is filthy and Asiatic cholera can always be found 
there if you look for it in the right locality, but all 
Chinese cities are filthy, and all of them have cholera 
or something else equally bad, and if our men were 
to have any shore leave in China we had to disregard 
some of the bad features and see if we could find some 
good ones. American fruit trees and vines had been 
cultivated in the vicinity of Chefoo, and furnished in 
season a good supply of fruit, which was a point greatly 
in its favour. Vegetables were grown in large quan- 
tities and these could be used when properly sterilised 

140 



The Kentucky at Chefoo 

and cooked, and the fish market was uncommonly good. 
There were so many points in favour of the place that 
I determined to use it as our summer rendezvous. Its 
proximity to Port Arthur, only about sixty miles away, 
was one objection to such use of it, as the Russians 
might, and afterwards did, think we were giving en- 
couragement to the Japanese by doing so. Our consul, 
Mr. Fowler, one of the best American representatives I 
have ever seen abroad, secured the use of a proper field 
for athletics and the exclusive use of two islands for 
target practice. Before leaving Chefoo, I let it be un- 
derstood that I would return the following year, so 
that the farmers and gardeners might be ready to supply 
our wants. 

There was one other consideration which influenced 
me in my decision to use this place for our summer 
work. Chefoo was one of the three Chinese ports of 
greatest importance to American merchants. Here they 
were fully protected by treaty rights, and their trade 
was flourishing and lucrative and would be more so be- 
cause of the presence of so many of our ships and men. 

Great interest was shown by the officers of the 
French fleet at Chefoo over the Kentucky, she being our 
latest battleship at the time, having as she did some 
peculiar features of construction not known in any other 
service. The most important of these were the double 
turrets, in which two thirteen-inch guns were installed 
in the lower turret, and two eight-inch in the turret 
above, which was immovably fixed to the one beneath 
it. This plan of mounting gims, devised by the late 
Admiral Sampson, had caused heated discussion by pro- 
fessional men all over the world. It had practically 

141 



An Admiral's Log 

divided professional opinion into two distinct schools, 
one, the larger, being strongly opposed to it, and the 
other, though smaller, equally strong in its favour. In 
later years many of those opposed have changed their 
views, but, unless all the guns in both upper and lower 
turrets are the same size, the system must be abandoned, 
for the all one calibre battery ship is the one we must 
have. 

Admiral Marechal, commander-in-chief of the 
French fleet, wrote me a note stating the desire of his 
officers to visit my flagship, and asking if permission 
might possibly be given. I sent, in reply, an invitation 
to all the officers of the French fleet to visit the Ken- 
tucky on a certain day, and when they came we showed 
them everything about the ship. There was nothing we 
cared to conceal, for the Scientific American and other 
journals had published full details of her with scale 
drawings. In return for this courtesy, we were invited, 
later, to inspect a new French cruiser just out from 
home, and were shown over her by her officers. Among 
other things we were allowed to see the gun sights, 
which were far better than anything we then had. I 
afterwards knew this gallant officer of the old school. 
Admiral Marechal, valued his. friendship, and admired 
him for his courtesy and dignity. He was a master of 
his profession and an honour to his calling. 

On July 4th, while at anchor at Chefoo, I was noti- 
fied by our consul that Asiatic cholera had broken out 
among the scholars of the China Inland Mission School, 
and asked that I should send medical aid at once. This 
institution, the best in north China, was for boys alone, 
about sixty of whom were in attendance. It was 

142 



Medical Examinations 

so far removed from the Chinese city that infection 
therefrom seemed almost impossible. Able surgeons, 
with hospital attendants, were hurried off at once, and 
ice made on board ship supplied as required. The senior 
surgeon soon returned with a report that it was not 
cholera but ptomaine poisoning that was the trouble, 
and that it had resulted from the eating of chicken pie. 
I ordered a careful microscopic examination, which dis- 
closed the fact that there was not a microscope in the 
fleet, and we had to borrow one from a native doctor 
on shore before the investigation could be made. It 
was not a long while before every ship on the station 
had a microscopic outfit, and the Navy Department had 
a fine bill to settle ! 

When Past Assistant Surgeon Guest, U. S. N., a 
microscopist of great ability, assisted by Dr. Wu, a na- 
tive, had made a thorough investigation, the disease was 
again diagnosed as ptomaine poisoning, but this was 
not satisfactory to the school authorities, because of the 
reflection upon their method of preparing and inspect- 
ing the food for the boys, nineteen of whom had been 
taken ill, thirteen of whom had died. The reputation 
of the school was high, and the scholars, among whom 
were several Americans, were, as a rule, the sons of 
merchants and wealthy men. To have it known that 
these lads had died from improper food would be a 
death blow to the institution, and to " save their faces," 
as the Chinese express it, the stomach of one of the 
dead was sent to Shanghai for examination. Cholera 
was raging in Shanghai and the jar containing the 
stomach, after being opened and remaining so for sev- 
eral days, was turned over to some one, whose name I 

143 



An Admiral's Log 

never learned, and the microscopic examination made. 
Cholera germs were found, and the case diagnosed as 
Asiatic cholera and so reported to the British consul at 
Chefoo, who published it broadcast, but never men- 
tioned the report made by the doctors in attendance. 
From the treatment the stomach had received, it is fair 
to assume that the microscope would have shown not 
only cholera germs but any other kind of germs as well ! 
However, the reputation of the school was saved, the 
bodies of the poor boys buried, and that was the end of 
it. Because of the presence of the American lads, I 
made a full report of the facts after doing all in my 
power to assist those who had been stricken. 

After the inspection and target practice of the Ken- 
tucky and New Orleans, which had in some respects 
proved startling, and before leaving Chefoo, I issued 
instructions concerning daily target practice for vessels 
of the squadron. They were prepared by Lieutenants 
Chapin, Brittain, and McLean, and contain my views at 
that time on this important subject. I give them in full 
because much comment and discussion have been in- 
dulged in, both in the navy and elsewhere, as to when 
and how our present system of target practice origi- 
nated and who is responsible and should have the credit 
for it. The " dotters " referred to were never fur- 
nished, as it was found that the subcalibre attachment, 
ping-pong, answered every purpose. The loading 
machine, so far as I know, was the first ever used in 
any service, and is still in use, much improved in design, 
on all our ships. 



144 



Instructions for Target Practice 

Chefoo, China, 
July 1 8, 1902. 

General Instructions 

1. The senior squadron commander notes that com- 
parisons made between the accuracy and rapidity of fire 
of our ships and certain foreign ships on this station 
are apparently much to our discredit, and there appears 
to be a growing opinion amongst the officers of the 
squadron which must in time extend to the crews, that 
our shooting is not only inferior, but that our guns 
and their appliances are also inferior. If this opinion 
be allowed to grow, fostered by a lack of constant train- 
ing and practice at the gims, it will operate to our own 
very serious detriment. The senior squadron com- 
mander has personally witnessed the extended target 
practice of each of two ships of the squadron, and while 
the results are gratifying as dispelling the views of the 
extreme pessimists, they are capable of much improve- 
ment both in rapidity and accuracy. It has shown that 
poor shooting and any lack of confidence in the giuis 
and appliances must be due to want of training and 
practice. 

10. It shall be the highest duty of all command- 
ing and other line officers to endeavour through their 
personal supervision and interest to increase the fir- 
ing efficiency to the highest standard through the reg- 
ular and constant training and practice herein required. 
Where officers show interest in any work, the at- 
tention and interest of the men are certain to follow at 
once. 

2. For the daily instruction and practice of all gim 
pointers of the northern squadron, except those of the 
Monocacy, each ship of the squadron, except the New 
Orleans, Monterey, and Monocacy, will be supplied with 
one dotter (the New Orleans has a dotter; the Mon- 
terey has no guns of a calibre with which it can be used 
properly) ; and each ship will supply herself with, and 

145 



An Admiral's Log 

install, two subcalibre target attachments on guns as 
follows : 

Kentucky. One for one 15" gun and one 8" gun. 

One for one 5" gun. 

One for one 6 pdr. 
New Orleans. One for one 6" gun. 

One for one 6 pdr. 
Wilmington. One for one 4" gun. 

One for one 6 pdr. 
Helena. One for one 4" gun. 

One for one 6 pdr. 
ViCKSBURG. One for one 4" gun. 

One for one 6 pdr. 
Monterey. One for one 12" gun or one 10" gun. 

Monadnock. One for one 10" gun. 

One for one 4" gun. 

One for one 6 pdr. 

3. The dotters will be furnished by the flagship, the 
Kentucky, and sent to ships as soon as possible. When 
received they shall at once be installed in connection 
with one of the broadside types of rapid, or quick-fire 
guns, of four, five, or six inch calibre. Forecastle or 
poop guns of these calibres are the most convenient. 
Where ships have no guns of these calibres mounted in a 
manner that will allow convenient and proper use of the 
dotter at sea or in port, then a gim and its mount shall 
be moved to some position where it can be so used. 

A supply of dotter paper will be sent from the Ken- 
tucky with each dotter, and furnished thereafter upon 
application as required. Daily practice shall commence 
with the dotter as soon as it is installed. 

4. Upon receipt of this order each ship will begin 
the preparation of subcalibre target attachments as 
directed above, and in not less than one month from 
date of receipt of this order, shall complete and install 
them. 

146 



Instructions for Target Practice 

Outline sketches of proposed target attachments for 
broadside and turret guns are forwarded herewith, ac- 
companied by a description of their rig and operation. 
Ships shall construct similar target attachments, the 
details and rigging to correspond to the various condi- 
tions existing on the different ships. Upon completion 
of the target arrangements, daily practice shall be com- 
menced with them. 

5. The dotter is intended to train the eye and hand 
to work together to keep the sight constantly on the 
target in elevation while the ship is rolling, and unless 
it is used to accomplish this as far as possible, its chief 
value is lost. It should be possible to keep constantly on 
with rapid or quick-fire guns. Even when the mount 
is of such a type that it is impracticable to follow the 
target through the entire roll, but only for that period 
of time which elapses between the decision to fire and 
the discharge of the gun (firing interval), the continu- 
ous aim system is preserved. The trajectory is not 
affected by the roll of the ship, and greatly increased 
accuracy results, the chiefest advantage of the continu- 
ous aim system of shooting. When the sights are kept 
" on " all the time, the result is not only increased ac- 
curacy, but greatly increased rapidity of fire, its second 
advantage. A great amount of practice with the dotter 
is necessary to acquire proficiency in this system of 
shooting, and then practice is required to maintain and 
increase proficiency. 

It is preferable, therefore, to begin training with 
the dotter before beginning practice with the subcalibre 
target attachment, but since it is certain that the former 
cannot be furnished until after the latter shall have 
been installed, practice with the latter must be begun 
first. 

6. With the subcalibre attachment, the actual hand- 
ling of the gun in the exercise of the functions of train- 
ing, elevating, and firing are carried on. It furnishes 
the best known available means for daily shooting 

147 



An Admiral's Log 

practice on board ship with the guns, at sea and in 
port. 

7. When the dotter shall have been installed, it is 
directed that every gun pointer on each ship shall have 
practice each day with it, except Saturdays, Sundays, 
national holidays, target-practice days held in pursuance 
of regulations or by general orders, or when the gun 
pointer is on the sick list, A division officer shall be 
present at and superintend the practice of the men. 
When ships have an ordnance officer, he shall be pres- 
ent frequently at the practice to verify adjustments and 
see that the practice is carried on in a uniform manner. 
When there is no ordnance officer, this duty shall be 
performed by the navigator. 

The first practice shall be made with the sheet mov- 
ing very slowly up and down through a very small 
angle, and, as the men improve in practice, the move- 
ment shall be gradually increased to simulate, if pos- 
sible, the roll and period of the ship. At the end of each 
week the last dotter sheet filled by each gun pointer 
shall be forwarded by mail to the senior squadron com- 
mander, together with the target sheet referred to later. 

When ships are at sea, and the weather will permit, 
gun pointers shall be practised with their own guns at 
keeping them pointed at the horizon, following it 
throughout the roll if possible. 

8. On the same day specified in paragraph 7, all 
the gun pointers of each ship shall also have practice 
with the subcalibre target attachments on guns of the 
types of which they are pointers. Each turret gun 
pointer shall fire for twenty minutes each day at four 
targets, five at each target. The pointers of other gims 
shall each fire four minutes a day at four targets, one 
minute at each. The first practice shall be at targets 
moving very slowly in the vertical plane, the motion in 
this plane to be gradually increased as the men improve, 
following, or striving to follow, the target, as in the 
case of the practice with the dotter. As improvement 

148 



Instructions for Target Practice 

becomes marked, the training element will be intro- 
duced, and the practice thereafter continued, aiming the 
gun as if actually in use. 

At the end of each week the last target made by 
each gun pointer shall be forwarded to the senior squad- 
ron commander. Paper target sheets will be made on 
board ship or printed on shore, and shall conform to 
samples forwarded herewith. 

Ships will make requisition for subcalibre (Gallery 
rifle) ammunition in ample time to start the practice, 
and to continue it without interruption. 

9. As the time of loading plays such an important 
part in the rapidity of fire, it is directed that guns' crews 
be practised with especial care to insure the supply and 
loading of an amount of ammunition sufficient to meet 
the greatest rapidity of fire possible with their guns. 
This applies to all types of gtms. For broadside rapid 
or quick-fire guns, the physical endurance of the men 
will play an important part, as well as their expertness 
in opening ammunition boxes and presenting the naked 
ammunition at the breech of the gun. 

The handling of boxed dummy cartridges, loaded 
to weight, would afford good physical training, the 
dummies to be unboxed and presented for loading as in 
actual service. 

Each ship with rapid or quick-fire gims of 4" calibre 
and upward will construct a loading device similar, or 
somewhat similar, to that described in the accompany- 
ing papers, set it up, and practice gims' crews of such 
guns for a reasonable time on the days specified in 
paragraph 7, at handling and loading as rapidly as pos- 
sible. 

10. It must be understood that nothing short of 
sickness shall be allowed to interfere with the daily 
practice of guns' crews as specified. It shall be carried 
out whether in port or at sea, unless the sea conditions 
make it quite impossible. 

Commanding officers shall encourage good results 
11 149 



An Admiral's Log 

obtained by rewarding gun pointers in every reasonable 
way. They shall be excused from all duties which will 
interfere with the daily practice herein required, at least 
during the time necessary for such practice and, as far 
as possible, from answering calls. 

11. Besides the required practice of the gun point- 
ers, the other members of the seaman branch shall be 
trained with the dotter and subcalibre target attach- 
ments. Men who develop greater aptitude and skill at 
the gims than the acting pointers should take the places 
of the least skilful of the latter. Gun pointers should be 
selected solely for their merit in marksmanship, conduct 
and other qualities not to be considered in this selection ; 
nor should rating be allowed to interfere except when 
the selection is manifestly impracticable. 

Gun pointers should not be shifted from one duty to 
another or one gun to another when it can be reasonably 
avoided. 

12. In order that the gun pointer may devote his 
entire attention to keeping the gun sights on the target 
all the time, he shall not be required to act as gim cap- 
tain and direct the service of the gim. In turrets, the 
latter shall be stationed in the turret by the turret offi- 
cer when his services will be of most value, and in the 
case of rapid or quick-fire guns, the plugman shall act 
as gun captain, directing the service. The man chosen 
for second pointer of guns shall be the trainer, when the 
type of mounts permits of or requires the service of 
such a man, and he shall train as directed by the first 
pointer. 

13. The governing principle in comparing results 
attained at target practice shall be for all guns of the 
same calibre, the greatest number of hits per gun per 
minute. This, of course, demands accuracy but rapidity 
of fire as well. 

14. Regarding the rate and accuracy of fire which 
should be attained in actual practice, average results 
already obtained with guns of corresponding calibre 

150 



Instructions for Target Practice 



fired at a target 20' long by 15' high indicate that we 
should arrive at or exceed the following degrees ot 
efficiency with the guns of this squadron fired at a 
similar target, viz. : 



Gun 


Speed of ship 


Interval 
between shots 


Per cent of 
hits 


Hits per gun 
per minute 


10, 12, or 13' . . 
8' 


8 knots 

8 " 
12 " 
12 " 
12 " 
12 " 


1 minute 
45 seconds 

81 " 
8^ " 
7 
6 


50 
50 
75 
80 
80 
80 


0.50 
0.75 


6' R or Q + G . 

5" " " " " " . 

^ir ct It It ti It 

6 pdr 


5.25 
6.00 
6.85 
8.00 







15, To secure the best results from the training and 
practice required herein, and to compare the records 
made by the gun pointers and ships of the squadron, it 
is directed that after the receipt of this order no sea 
practice will be held by any ship of the squadron for 
three months, and then each ship will hold a record 
practice, firing at a target 20' long by 15' high, actual 
hits only to be counted. The target shall be placed at 
the apex of a right isosceles triangle, the legs of which 
shall be two thousand yards long as nearly as possible, 
the ship to steam along the hypothenuse of the triangle 
for the present at a speed of eight knots. It is the in- 
tention to increase the speed to twelve knots later when 
the pointers become proficient. 

Each first and second gim pointer of a gun of 8" 
calibre and up will be allowed to fire separately at the 
target for six minutes as rapidly as possible; each first 
and second pointer of a main battery gim of 4" calibre 
and upwards, and each pointer of a 1.3 or 6-pdr R. I. 
gun. shall be allowed to fire separately for one minute 
at the target as rapidly as possible. The target shall 
be examined after the string of shots made by each gun 
pointer, and the actual hits counted. For better means 
of comparison, this practice shall take place only under 

151 



An Admiral's Log 

the best sea conditions, viz. : good, clear weather and 
smooth sea. 



This order was followed immediately by others — in 
fact, they were sent at the same time, describing fully 
the dotter, the subcalibre or ping-pong rifle — usually a 
Flobert rifle, the target and its attachments, the loading 
machine, and how to construct and use them all. Ref- 
erence to the date will show that Lieutenant Sims was 
at the time a watch officer on the New York, flagship of 
the commander-in-chief, and could not have had any 
hand in the work. He did not, in fact, know that such 
orders had been issued, nor did the Navy Department 
or any body in it have such knowledge until a copy 
of the order was received. The officers named by me 
are the ones responsible for it, and to them should be 
given the credit. 

The same rules have been observed, and the same 
system has been followed ever since in our target prac- 
tice, except that the target has been reduced in size, 
and the speed of the ship increased as the gun pointers 
have become more expert and proficient. 



CHAPTER XIV 

AN INSPECTION TOUR 

After the firing at Chefoo I found the work piHng 
up on my hands so rapidly that the days were not long 
enough to do it satisfactorily. It was absolutely neces- 
sary that I should visit all parts of the station and see 
conditions for myself. In the meantime, all the ships 
must be inspected, and this of itself was quite a job. 
We had maintained ships at two ports permanently, a 
gunboat at Newchwang and one at Taku. During the 
summer the ships rode at their own anchor, and in win- 
ter were placed in what were called mud docks. These 
docks were made by digging a hole in the bank of the 
river large enough to hold them, and when the ship 
had been hauled into this so-called dock, she was se- 
curely moored with anchors and chains, and when ice 
formed, she remained frozen in during the winter. 
Booms of logs were placed across the entrance of the 
docks to prevent floating ice from crowding in and 
doing damage. Under such conditions the guns, except 
the small ones in the tops, were of no value for defence 
as they were below the banks of the dock, and could not, 
in case of need, be fired. The ships were simply places 
of refuge in case of trouble, where our missionaries and 
other citizens could be protected if it became necessary 
to do so. 

153 



^svb-v 



An Admiral's Log 

Of all the Chinese ports, Newchwang was the most 
important to our mercantile interests, which seemed to 
me to be protected in every possible way by treaty 
rights. Very large quantities of American cotton piece 
goods were sent here and found a ready market in 
Manchuria, at least such had been the case in former 
years until the Russians, ignoring treaty rights, vir- 
tually took possession of the place with their military 
forces. One of our ships was there, however, to keep 
the government at home advised of what was being 
done and to give such protection as she could to our 
people. The effect of her presence was really good. 
The simple fact that the American flag was flying there 
prevented many outrages that would, no doubt, other- 
wise have been perpetrated. 

The situation at Taku was entirely different. There 
were really no American interests at that point, and a 
ship had been kept there for two reasons : as a refuge 
for the missionaries who were spread over this part of 
China, not only our own but those of other countries; 
and as a base from which to send assistance to our min- 
ister in Pekin, if that should seem necessary. It was 
also thought that the minister would have sufficient no- 
tice of coming trouble to withdraw with his family and 
the members of the legation, and seek refuge on the 
ship at Taku. The Boxer trouble showed how false 
this assumption was. Taku being only a short distance 
from Chefoo, I determined to run over there, inspect 
the ship, examine a number of officers who were en- 
titled to promotion, and acquaint myself generally with 
conditions on that part of the station. 

Accordingly, on July 23d I got under way with the 

154 



Inspecting the Monocacy 

Kentucky and Helena, and the next morning anchored 
off the Taku bar. The U. S. S. Monocacy, an iron side- 
wheel gunboat, built during the Civil War, had served in 
China for thirty or thirty-five years and was then 
anchored at Taku. She had been stationed at various 
ports, Shanghai, Canton, Amoy, etc., and for years in 
her present berth. Though a nautical curiosity, from 
the first she had done excellent service because of her 
light draught and the very heavy battery she carried. 
The guns, smooth-bore, eight-inch, were just the weap- 
ons to use, at short range, on such a mob as one might 
have to contend with in China. She was the only ship 
of our fleet that could cross the bar and steam up to the 
city, or town, of Taku, and she had the peculiar dis- 
tinction of being one of the few American ships that 
had been fired on by an enemy without returning the 
fire. When the allied fleets attacked the forts at the 
mouth of the Peiho, she was fired on at her anchorage 
by a Chinese battery, and at least one shell passed 
through her rotten sides. The commanding officer did 
not return the fire, and we must assume that he was 
right because the commander-in-chief, and afterwards 
the government in Washington, approved his conduct. 
Such approval always makes the action of a naval offi- 
cer right, but in this case it did not add to our prestige 
either among foreigners or natives. 

Instructions had been sent to the captain of the 
Monocacy to come outside for his inspection, and imme- 
diately on my arrival he appeared. I had some doubts 
about ordering the ship to come out into deep water for 
fear she might sink, and when I saw her condition I 
wondered somewhat that she had not done so! She 

155 



An Admiral's Log 

was a comfortable old home, or boarding-house, for 
officers and men, but no longer of any military value. 
Her iron plates had rusted away slowly for years until 
it seemed that her frames were all that held her in shape. 
At one spot under her boilers I dug through the paint 
and found salt water coming in! The plate was gone 
in places so that I could stick a knife through it. She 
was a fine exemplification of the old navy adage, 
" Paint and putty cover a multitude of sins." 

When the inspection had been completed, I hurried 
her back into the river, and was much relieved when I 
saw her at her old anchorage. Then I wrote home 
recommending that the officers and men be transferred 
to other ships, where they were badly needed, and the 
vessel sold. This was approved, and I afterwards sold 
her for eight thousand dollars, gold, which was about 
seven thousand five hundred more than she was worth ! 
She was not replaced by any other ship, as the whole 
country from Taku to Pekin was dotted with the 
camps of foreign troops, and danger to our interests 
was not to be feared. 

It had been my intention to visit Pekin at this time, 
but I found it impracticable to do so because of press- 
ing work in other directions. 

With the Kentucky and New Orleans I ran back 
to Chefoo, to complete the inspection of the gunboats 
that had been ordered to assemble there. On board of 
them all I found officers and men anxious to get to work 
with the guns, but the sights and the mounts were so 
bad that all hands were discouraged and disheartened 
with their efforts. Of course, this condition could not 
be allowed to continue, it must be changed at once. I 

156 



Telescope Sights 

knew that among those under my command there must 
be some one with the necessary abiHty to do the work, 
but the trouble was to discover him. Lieutenant Ridley 
McLean went to work on a sight for one of the guns 
of his division. When it was completed and installed, 
with a suitable telescope, he made a wonderful record 
of hits. This brought the question of telescope sights 
to the front. After hearing what was to be said in 
favour of low-power telescopes, advocated by many offi- 
cers, I decided in favour of the high-power ones, not 
only because of my own belief in their greater efficiency, 
but also because the opinion of officers in whose judg- 
ments I had implicit confidence agreed with me. A tele- 
gram was sent to the best makers in Paris, and in due 
time the instruments arrived. There are still a few 
officers who are opposed to the use of the high-power 
glasses, but I think they are changing as they get more 
experience. These sights, which were used for years, 
have been much improved through the efforts of Lieu- 
tenant Mustin, U. S. N., who has developed a genius 
for such work. He promises to put us ahead of all the 
other navies of the world in this important respect, and 
from what I have seen of his work I feel sure that he 
will live up to the promise. 

When the turret guns of the Kentucky were first 
fired, the sights behaved so badly that I ordered the 
firing to stop, as no good results could follow practice 
under such conditions. The sights had been made as 
secure as possible, but the principle under which they 
were constructed was wrong, and no amount of patch- 
ing could do them any good. 

Something entirely new had to be devised, and, 

157 



An Admiral's Log 

fortunately for me and the service, I found the man 
who could do the necessary work. Assistant Paymas- 
ter William A. Merritt was the man. Mr. Merritt was 
an educated mechanical engineer, and had worked in 
the draughting room of the Newport News Shipbuild- 
ing Company on the plans for the Kearsarge and Ken- 
tucky. When the Spanish-American War broke out he 
felt it his duty to go to the front, and he succeeded in 
securing an appointment in the pay corps of the navy. 
Seeing the trouble with the turret-gun sights, he volun- 
teered to work on something to take their place, and, 
after weeks of most exacting labour, produced the draw- 
ings of a design for sights which, after criticism from 
many line officers of experience, were adopted, and the 
device was ordered to be fitted to all turret guns. This 
was done, and when the sights were tested on board 
the Kentucky excellent results were obtained. 

While at anchor in Chefoo harbour I received a 
pressing invitation from our minister in Korea to visit 
Chemulpo with the squadron and have an audience with 
the Emperor at Seoul. There were several American 
claims against the government of Korea which had 
been discussed for a long time. They had now arrived 
at a point diplomatically when the presence of a force 
of warships might ensure their payment! This course 
is often followed in the East, and even in other parts of 
the world, and is one good reason for keeping a naval 
force in certain foreign waters. The diplomatic repre- 
sentative convinces the foreign government of the jus- 
tice of the claim, and then by a friendly display of 
ships and men makes it appear better to pay and be 
done with it. In this case it was very necessary that 

158 



At Port Arthur 

I should comply with the minister's request. I accepted 
his invitation and named a time for the visit, but an- 
other was pressing before I could fulfil the engage- 
ment. 

Admiral Alexieff, of the Russian navy, had sent me 
word at Chefoo that he would be glad to have me visit 
Port Arthur and the new city of Dalny with my flag- 
ship. It was most important, for many reasons, that I 
should make this visit. We all wanted a look at Port 
Arthur and its fortifications. The new town of Dalny 
was of great interest because of its peculiar status and 
the opportunity it was said to offer for American trade. 
On July 25th I anchored off the entrance to the harbour 
of Port Arthur with the Kentucky and New Orleans in 
a dense fog. It was too thick to venture in, even had 
it been considered desirable to do so. I waited some 
time for the usual boarding visit of courtesy, but no 
officer came to welcome me, I was on the point of 
sending one of my staff in to ask an explanation of 
this, when a man-of-war boat appeared, flying the Rus- 
sian flag. When she had approached within fifty yards 
of us an officer stood up in her stern, asked who we 
were, where we came from, and then returned to the 
harbour ! 

Our invitation to enter the harbour was not so 
pressing as to require our presence on that particular 
day, so I postponed my visit until I could learn the 
meaning of this unusual boat call. The weather had 
cleared somewhat, giving us a faint view of the enor- 
mous forts about the entrance to the harbour and on 
the high land in the background. We got under way 
at once and proceeded on our way to Dalny. Passing 

159 



An Admiral's Log 

close along the rugged, rocky shore, we could form 
some idea of the number of Russian troops centred 
about Port Arthur. Their white tents seemed to cover 
the country in every direction, and a great number were 
quartered in huts on the hillsides. We estimated that 
there were over forty thousand men in the various 
camps we saw. Some of the regiments were drilling, 
and made a striking picture in their peculiar dress — 
white coats and black trousers. 

After we had anchored, official calls were promptly 
made — most promptly, I may say, for there was a feel- 
ing in the air that each side was looking to the con- 
duct of the other. No salutes were fired on enter- 
ing the port, as there was no battery to return them. 
Two Russian gimboats were the only war vessels in 
port. 

The military governor was absent, but the civil gov- 
ernor received me most cordially, extended to me every 
possible courtesy, and showed me everything there was 
to be seen. He was a brilliant young engineer who had 
laid out and partly constructed this wonderful city. 
Thousands upon thousands of dollars had been spent, 
and the end of expenditure was not yet in sight. Great 
stone docks, capable of accommodating an enormous 
amount of shipping, had been designed and partly con- 
structed, many of them, indeed, finished, ready for the 
Japanese, who came to occupy them two years later. 
The city itself was beautifully laid out — one section for 
Chinese, one for Europeans, one for business purposes, 
and one for residences, all under the most modern sani- 
tary regulations. 

After lunching with the governor and his charming 
1 60 



A Visionary Scheme 

wife, we drove over the entire city and its suburbs. 
With the aid of maps, I was shown what it was in- 
tended to do, what had been done, and what remained 
to do to complete the scheme of this great, ice-free 
Russian port in the East. A more visionary scheme I 
have never heard of. The place was to have no fortifi- 
cations, because the merchants and tradesmen of all na- 
tions were to settle there, and for that reason alone no 
one would dare attack it. When I had seen all the city 
part, the governor pointed out a great space on the 
shores of the beautiful bay where factories of all sorts, 
under all flags, were to be erected. Because of cheap 
labour and the entry of raw material free, the factories 
were to turn out great quantities of excellent, cheap 
products. I asked the governor what was to become of 
all this output. He replied that all Manchuria was 
waiting to purchase the things as soon as they could be 
made; that the market could never be oversupplied. 
When I suggested that capital — American capital, at 
least — would hesitate before entering fully on this 
scheme, because there was only one railroad — a Rus- 
sian government road — connecting the factories with 
the country to be supplied, that differential rates would 
eat up all profits for those who were not the favoured 
ones, his face was a study. I also intimated that mer- 
chants would surely demand something more in the way 
of protection than had so far been projected. I con- 
cluded by saying that in the war which seemed immi- 
nent between Japan and Russia, the Japanese would 
quickly occupy Dalny as a base from which to operate 
against Port Arthur, After a few moments of thought- 
ful silence, the governor said to me : 

i6i 



An Admiral's Log 

" I am surprised, Admiral, that you anticipate war 
for my country. The Japanese will never dare attack 
Russia. We are too strong for them." 

I did not feel called upon to reply to this, although 
he evidently wanted me to. I preferred to let him wait 
and see for himself how much afraid the Japanese 
were. My short experience with them had fully con- 
vinced me on that point. 

The granting of Dalny to Russia by China was in 
connection with the concession for the construction of 
the Trans-Siberian Railroad through Manchuria. This 
road was to connect Russia, by way of Siberia and 
Manchuria, with Vladivostock, having Dalny as its ter- 
minus in Manchuria. Branch roads were to connect 
with Harbin and other points. That the Russian gov- 
ernment intended to use this road when completed as a 
means of rapidly transporting troops and supplies, in 
case of necessity, was plain to all, particularly to Japan. 
That the Japanese government tried in every way to 
neutralise the effect produced by it is well known; she 
was unsuccessful, and trouble came because of it. More 
serious trouble will, I think, come from the same cause 
in the future. 



CHAPTER XV 

IN NORTHERN ASIA 

Amused and interested with our Dalny visit, we ran 
back to Chefoo to meet a store-ship from home, make 
necessary transfer of men, and receive siippHes. Hav- 
ing done this, I sailed with the New Orleans, the Vicks- 
4 ^7.' burg, and the Helena in company for Chemulpo, Korea, 
arriving there on August 6th. 

Our minister having made the necessary arrange- 
ments for an audience with his Majesty, the Emperor 
of Korea, I left the fleet on the morning of the 7th of 
August, accompanied by my personal staff and the cap- 
tains of the Vicksburg and Helena, and proceeded to 
Seoul. The railroad over which we travelled — the cars 
and everything in connection with them — seemed in 
keeping with the wretched country through which we 
were riding. Dirt, poverty, and misery were in evi- 
dence everywhere. There was little in the way of cul- 
tivation beyond patches of rice or melons. The natives 
lived almost exclusively on the former, and thousands 
of them die every year of cholera from eating the lat- 
ter. The melons are really of fine quality, very whole- 
some when properly eaten. The natives of the very 
poor classes eat them rmd and all. The rind contains 
the cholera germ, and in this way the disease starts and 
spreads. The houses were very like the people — poor 

163 



An Admiral's Log 

and ill-looking. When a fine-looking house was seen 
we were told that it belonged to some Japanese gentle- 
man, who kept it filled with rice or other kind of pro- 
visions. The meaning of this could be seen later on 
when war broke out between Japan and Russia. The 
land seemed fertile enough; the people would not culti- 
vate it, because everything they made beyond a bare 
living was promptly appropriated by the Emperor or 
his agents. 

The view of the capital city as we approached it by 
rail was picturesque. The great wall surrounding it 
had withstood the hundreds of years that had passed 
since it was built, as well as the assaults of many 
armies. It was ugly, as ugly as all mud walls are, but 
picturesque. There was nothing green in sight from 
the outside — only brown fields and mud-coloured walls. 
Inside the ancient gates, through which we passed as 
the guards presented arms and scowled at us, the view 
was not much better. The trees and scant shrubbery 
afforded some relief to the eyes, but everything else 
was brown. Dirty, filthy, dilapidated houses and dirty 
streets filled with dirty people extended in every direc- 
tion. Even the soldiers were dirty and slouchy. The 
only modern or decent thing I saw was a small street 
railroad running through the main streets of the 
wretched city. This had been built by an American 
company, and was doing a thriving business. Inside 
the compounds, or grounds, of the foreign ministers 
everything was different; shrubs and exquisite flowers 
filled the well-kept grounds; instead of the squalor of 
the natives, one found here comfort, luxury, and refine- 
ment, which only made the contrast more striking. 

164 ^- 



The Emperor of Korea 

The Emperor of Korea was progressive in one re- 
spect at least. Finding himself only a king, while his 
ruling neighbour on the one side was an emperor and on 
the other an empress, he proceeded to declare that he 
also would be an emperor. To install himself properly 
in his new position, he appropriated from the treasury 
about four millions of dollars, ordered a new palace 
built, and grand ceremonies and festivities to mark his 
change of title. All foreign representatives in the East 
were invited to be present; some of them went, some 
stayed away. Every detail was properly carried out by 
the use of quite a large body of troops, so that on the 
occasion of my visit I found an emperor instead of a 
king. He was surrounded by all the pomp and eti- 
quette of other courts; he even had some things not 
known to other emperors I had had the honour of being 
presented to! 

The city residence of our minister was a charming, 
refined house full of exquisite old things; and there, 
after changing our dress, we waited for the summons 
to appear before his Majesty. The hour for our audi- 
ence had been set for noon, but when that time came 
the Emperor was still sleeping, and, of course, we had 
to wait until he was awake. I warned all the officers 
who were to be presented with me to be most careful 
not to attempt to shake hands, or make any movement 
to do so, until his Majesty offered his hand. 

Finally, at one p.m., we proceeded to the new pal- 
ace and were ushered into the royal presence, after 
passing long lines of soldiers and thousands of scowling 
faces. The Emperor received us graciously for a man 
who, apparently, had just recovered from a hard night, 
13 165 



An Admirars Log 

shook hands with me, assured me of his friendly re- 
gard for my country, which was reciprocated. Then I 
backed out. The other officers were then presented, the 
four captains first. After them came an officer of my 
staff, tall, fine-looking, worth any thousand Koreans in 
the country. I suppose the fact that the four captains 
who preceded him had all been favoured with a hand- 
shake induced this officer to extend his hand. In return 
he received a cold stare from his Majesty, who stood 
calmly with his hand by his side. For two seconds the 
officer stood perfectly still with his hand extended, the 
flush on his face fading quickly until he was perfectly 
white; then his hand came to his side, his eyes flashed, 
and with a profound bow he backed out. The other 
officers did not forget what I had tried to impress on 
them in the matter of shaking hands with royalty. The 
innocent offender against royal etiquette was seriously 
wounded in his feelings, but it was worth the punish- 
ment he had received to hear the language he after- 
wards used about this copper-coloured monarch. 

On the throne with the Emperor sat his son, the 
Crown Prince and heir-apparent to the throne, a half- 
witted young man who grinned and giggled incessantly. 
Emperor and Crown Prince had all the marks of hard 
drinking and high living for which they were cele- 
brated. Neither of them seemed to me capable of con- 
ducting any ordinary business requiring common sense, 
much less conducting a country in the perilous position 
of Korea. Why our government should support and 
aid such rulers is a question the State Department may 
be able to answer, but certainly I am not. 

After our audience we were invited to a luncheon 
1 66 



An Imperial Luncheon 

for which the Emperor had drawn ten thousand dol- 
lars from the treasury. It cost, at most, five to six hun- 
dred dollars; the rest, I was told, found its way to the 
bank account of his Majesty. It was an ordinary meal, 
European dishes cooked and served in European fash- 
ion. French wines were served and consumed in ver^ 
large quantities. A number of Korean officials sat with 
us — ministers, secretaries, and army officers — all of 
whom astonished us by the amount they could eat and 
drink. During the meal a fine military band of thirty- 
eight pieces furnished excellent music, a bit mechanical 
but distinctly good. The bandmaster, a Japanese from 
the academy of music in Tokio, told me later that all the 
musicians had been trained in the period of one year; 
previous to that time none of them could play a musical 
instrument. This was about the only thing I heard of 
them that led me to think there was any good in the 
Koreans. 

Luncheon completed, we were conducted to a broad 
piazza to witness the performances of the Emperor's 
dancing girls, more properly dancing women — they all 
looked forty years old or more. He had eighty of these 
women, each of whom received, I was told, about ten 
dollars a week and a new silk dress. The dancing con- 
tinued an hour or more, and was curious and interest- 
ing, at first, mainly because we did not understand 
what the dancers were trying to illustrate. When the 
game they were playing was explained all interest van- 
ished; it would have been amusing to children, not to 
grown men. There was none of the grace and excite- 
ment of the Japanese " chon-nuke," or the suggestive 
movements of the fair creatures seen in the Jardin 

167 



An Admiral's Log 

Mabille. A sense of relief came to us all when we were 
permitted to withdraw to the comfort of our consul's 
house, where we enjoyed a few hours' rest, and then 
returned to our ships feeling that our mission was suc- 
cessful, that the disputed claims would be paid. 

The following day the usual presents — fans, pieces 
of silk or satin, native silver work, etc. — were sent by 
the Emperor, one piece to each officer who had been 
presented. A proper letter of acknowledgment was sent 
to his Majesty through our minister, and the fleet left 
Korean waters, passing close by Round Island, where, 
a few months later, the first act in the great war drama 
between Russia and Japan was played. 

In view of the position assumed later by the Rus- 
sian authorities in Manchuria that they owned all the 
timber and mining rights in Korea, it may be well to 
state here that at that time — the summer of 1902 — an 
American company had been granted a large timber 
concession covering the exclusive right to cut lumber 
over a large area. A company of our countrymen also 
were successfully working gold mines in the mountains 
of Korea under concessions granted by the Emperor 
while still only a king. The concessions, however, 
were of minor importance when compared with those 
covering the right to build railroads, which were of 
vital importance to two great nations. Russian officers 
of high rank spent sleepless nights thinking of the time 
when they should occupy, fortify, and hold the ports 
of Fusan and Massampho, the latter facing the coast of 
Japan across the straits of Korea. Russian diplomacy 
at Seoul for once failed, and the right to connect these 
ports with Chemulpo and Seoul was granted to Jap- 

168 



Through the Straits of Korea 

anese citizens. When the time came to act, the Japanese 
government, watching this question, without for a mo- 
ment losing sight of its great importance, stepped in, 
took over the concession, and completed the road with- 
out delay. Thus, the Yalu River continued to be the 
line of defence for Japan against Russian advance, in- 
stead of the straits of Korea, which would have been 
the case had Russia succeeded in her schemes. 

Another transport was waiting at Nagasaki to be 
discharged. Having orders to expedite her return to 
San Francisco, I ran over to Nagasaki, notwithstanding 
the fact that cholera was raging there. Orders must 
be obeyed regardless of sanitary conditions. The 
cholera really was threatening at Nagasaki in spite of 
the efforts of the government to get it under control. 
I remained outside with the ships, giving all my time 
to fleet work, only one ship at a time being sent in to 
communicate with the transport. In this way and by 
not having any communication with the shore, we were 
fortunate enough to escape without a single case of the 
dreaded disease. 

It was necessary to find some place free from chol- 
era where the men could be granted liberty on shore. 
The north seemed the most likely direction and Vladi- 
vostock the most desirable place for many reasons. The 
Russian authorities had announced that they would 
allow only two vessels of war of each nation in that 
port at one time ; formerly any number could be there. 
Ordering the New Orleans to join me later, and the 
Helena and Vicksburg to the Inland Sea ports, I sailed 
with the Kentucky. Up through the straits of Korea, 
over the very spot where Admiral Togo a few months 

169 



An Admiral's Log 

later put the Russian fleet out of business, we ran with 
just the same kind of weather — fog, with thick mist 
and an ugly, breaking sea. For two days we had this; 
then we entered the port of Vladivostock and anchored. 
It was not a difficult place to enter, even in a fog." The 
Russians thought it impossible until one morning when 
they found six British frigates anchored within easy 
gunshot of the town. A notice was then sent abroad 
that only two ships might come in at a time. The guns 
of the forts could keep ships out in clear weather — at 
least, it was supposed they could — but guns were of no 
use in a fog. 

Our reception by the port authorities, both civil and 
military, was most cordial. A large Russian fleet was 
in port, many salutes were fired, and all necessary offi- 
cial calls were made. A few hours after we anchored 
I noticed that three buoys were being placed for French 
ships; they had small French flags on them. The rule 
of two ships only was not to be enforced by the authori- 
ties against their allies, which was no business of mine. 
I did not wish to bring in more than two ships, and I 
took no notice of it. Later in the day a train load of 
soldiers came in from Harbin while I was on shore hav- 
ing a look at the town. When one of the box cars was 
opened the dead bodies of a number of soldiers who 
had died of cholera were taken out. This, with the 
look I had had to the wide-open character of the town, 
convinced me that I should have to find some other 
place in which to give liberty to the men. It was advis- 
able, however, that we should remain a few days to 
allow the intelligence officer an opportunity to learn 
what he could of the defences, to observe the doings of 

170 



At Vladivostock 

the Russian fleet, and generally to get such information 
as we could. 

The defences were undoubtedly very strong. Guns 
stared one in the face at every point. Forts crowned 
all the heights about the entrance and as far back in the 
country as the eye could reach. Many thousands of 
artillery soldiers, fine, athletic-looking men, garrisoned 
the harbour works, and, as nearly as we could learn, 
fifteen thousand Cossacks were encamped a short dis- 
tance from the city. I saw many of them when I was 
on shore — large, heavy-looking men, with red beards — 
riding their fine horses about the streets at breakneck 
speed, or else rolling from side to side because of the 
liquor they had consumed. The city was a lake of 
mud, sticky red stuff, about the consistency of molasses 
and up to one's knees in most places. Saloons were in 
evidence everywhere — large buildings, well lighted, at- 
tractive by reason of women and wine, and full to over- 
flowing day and night. No boom mining town in our 
western country ever equalled it. Champagne and 
vodka literally flowed over the door sills as well as 
down human throats. Officers in gorgeous uniforms, 
as well as private soldiers, seemed to fancy these houses 
of pleasure. It was a new feature in preparing for a 
great war, which they, it must be said, did not believe 
was coming, but which was, to the casual observer, in 
plain sight. It certainly did not promise well for Rus- 
sia when the struggle should come. 

The ships of the fleet seemed in worse condition for 
service than the forts. Most of them were out of com- 
mission or under repairs, their crews living in barracks 
on shore. Some drilling was done every day, but it 

171 



An Admiral's Log 

seemed to us of a perfunctory or trifling nature. The 
officers enjoyed life at the Naval Club, a well-organised 
and useful society, necessary to relieve the strain of 
long service on this out-of-the-way station. 

During the forenoon of the third day of our visit I 
sent word to the authorities that I would sail on the 
following morning for the Japanese port of Hakodate, 
offering to take mails. Immediately I received, at the 
hands of a staff officer, an invitation to dine with the 
rear-admiral, second in command, at eight o'clock that 
evening — short notice for a formal dinner certainly. 
I assumed that the dinner was for my friend Admiral 
Marechal and his officers, but such was not the case. 
Admiral Skrydloff, the able commander-in-chief, was 
absent on a Russian cruiser, looking after some coal 
deposits which had been discovered on the coast. The 
dinner was given for me by Admiral Stark, second in 
command, and the French officers were not invited. 
When I arrived on the flagship at the time named, sev- 
eral Russian officers courteously assisted me in remov- 
ing my heavy overcoat. One of them was the admiral. 

" Why are you going to sea to-morrow ? " he asked 
me, his voice somewhat excited. 

I told him as politely as I could that I was going to 
sea because I had business in that direction. It then 
developed that some one had started the story that I 
was offended because three French ships had been per- 
mitted to enter instead of two ; that I was going to sea 
to show my resentment. I assured the admiral that the 
French were our staunch friends, that the Russians 
were the same, and if I had felt for a moment that any 
unfriendly reflection was intended I should have re- 

172 



Dinn-er with the Russian Admiral 

mained quietly at anchor until it was explained. This 
seemed to satisfy him, his excitement disappeared, and 
the dinner was served. 

It was a curious repast — the first large Russian din- 
ner I had ever attended. There were present a dozen 
or more Russian officers, all speaking English perfectly, 
many of them men who were to figure prominently in 
the coming war. I was deeply interested in their conver- 
sation, particularly in their views of the coming struggle, 
which they expressed very freely after they had warmed 
up with vodka and champagne. I was amazed at the 
amount those men ate and drank. Their physical con- 
dition was perfect. A side table contained every kind 
of appetiser I ever heard of, many I had never before 
seen — salt or dried fish of every kind, several varieties 
of caviar, vodka, and cordials of every brand. When 
these things had been sampled — all of them were — din- 
ner seemed superfluous. It was eaten, however, and 
apparently enjoyed. First came a very large dish of 
soup, followed by a thick slice of fish, the like of which 
I had never before tasted. It proved to be sturgeon. 
Meat was then served — beef, which I was sure did not 
come from Chicago ; it was too tough — and the dinner 
was over except for drink and conversation. I did not 
partake of the former, but greatly enjoyed the latter. 

Some one — Admiral Stark, I think — started the sub- 
ject of the trouble with Japan, and, as the wine began 
to tell, the conversation became most interesting to 
those who, like myself, were intent listeners. A captain 
who had once served as naval attache in London, evi- 
dently looked upon as an able speaker, was fluent in 
expressing his ideas and those of his brother officers. 

173 



An Admiral's Log 

He held that Japan would never dare to come to blows 
with Russia. She was too weak and had not the money 
for that game, but if she should so dare, the result was 
inevitable. The Russian navy would be held behind 
the defences of Vladivostock and Port Arthur until the 
Japanese had invaded Manchuria. I held my breath 
while waiting to know what the speaker thought would 
happen then. He went on, with great excitement, to 
say that the Japanese might land two hundred thousand 
men or more (the English could come with them if 
they cared to) ; the Russian navy would then sally 
forth, cut all lines of communication, and allow the 
unfortunate invader to die of starvation. The refer- 
ence to the English was because of their alliance with 
Japan, just then announced. The matter of the three 
French ships was an indication of the Russian alliance 
with France. 

The sentiments expressed by this able captain met 
with the approval of his comrades; their applause 
seemed genuine and hearty. The naval part of the pro- 
gramme was followed in part when war came, for the 
fleet was divided as proposed. The Japanese saw to it 
that they were never united, but were destroyed in de- 
tail. The landing in Manchuria was also carried out, 
but the starving part failed completely. The Japanese 
army and navy proved capable of looking after them- 
selves when the time came. If, as the captain sug- 
gested, the English had taken an active part, the 
struggle would have assumed the features of a 
great picnic. When the war that came later was 
being fought, I often thought of this dinner. The 
admiral who gave it was in command of the fleet at 

174 



Japanese Preparations for War 

Port Arthur when the Japanese made their successful 
attack on the 9th of February. He was attending a 
ball on shore at the time, still confident, I suppose, that 
they would never be attacked. I was sorry that Skryd- 
loff, one of the ablest men in our profession, was not at 
the dinner. I am sure his views would have been dif- 
ferent from those I heard expressed. Mackaroff and 
Skrydloff were the two men who could have saved the 
Russian fleet if it were possible to do so after the first 
grave blunder of dividing it had been made; for both 
were masters of their profession, the latter a bright, 
shining light among torpedo men. Mackaroff went 
down with his flagship when she struck a mine off Port 
Arthur, and Skrydloff arrived when that port was be- 
sieged by Nogi and was unable to get to the fleet. 

Still in search of a port free from cholera, I left 
Vladivostock and ran oyer to Hakodate, on the Island 
of Yesso, where I found what I was looking for. Dur- 
ing the week of our stay the pretty little Japanese town 
was filled with American sailors, enjoying to the full 
the hospitality of the people. This is one of the great 
fish markets of the East. The sight of the fishing fleet 
at night, like the lights of some great floating city, is 
worth a long trip. And the fish, when the boats come 
in, are beautiful to look at and delicious to eat. On 
shore everything indicated preparations for war — quiet 
preparations, but most thorough. The forts in course 
of construction, the soldiers quietly drilling every- 
where, and the look on the brown faces, meant only one 
thing — a determination to defend their country to the 
last man. How the Russians failed to understand this 
is beyond me. Their spies were thick here, as elsewhere 

175 



An Admiral's Log 

in Japan, yet they thought there was to be no war, or 
pretended to think so. 

Hakodate was historically interesting. It was here 
that my old frie4id Admiral Enomoto made his last 
stand during the Shogunate rebellion, and here he lost 
his last ships, old sailing craft, after one of the hardest 
fights in Japanese history. I saw him several times in 
1867, when the present Emperor was a growing lad; 
later I met him at dinner in Tokio and heard from his 
own lips how the battle of Hakodate was fought, and, 
as I had just then visited the harbour, the account was 
interesting and thrilling. The admiral, now a peer of 
the realm, enjoys good health and renders valuable 
service to his government. 

The commander-in-chief had notified me to meet 
him in Yokohama harbour, where I found most of the 
fleet assembled. Orders had come from Washington 
to hold extended fleet exercises during the fall and win- 
ter at Manila or in that vicinity, and those vessels that 
were north would sail in company for the Philippines, 
thus securing the benefit of tactical work on the way. 

A few days after my arrival at Yokohama we had 
an example of the thorough way in which the Japanese 
do things. Two or three cases of bubonic plague de- 
veloped in a section of the city bordering on the water, 
probably from a merchant ship unloading freight, caus- 
ing something of a panic among the people. The 
government took charge at once, removed all who had 
been exposed to contagion, well people and sick, to the 
hospital, built a sheet-iron defence across the point of 
land containing warehouses and dwellings, called out 
the fire department, set fire to the buildings, and de- 

176 



Japanese Thoroughness 

stroyed every one of them. The fence prevented the 
escape of rats. They were either burned to death or 
killed by men detailed for the purpose, and the plague 
was not heard of again. A rat lottery was organised, 
cash prizes of considerable value offered, and about 
forty thousand rats were caught. Seventy per cent 
of them had plague. 



CHAPTER XVI 

UP THE YANGTZE RIVER 

Early in September the commander-in-Ghief advised 
me that he would turn over the command of the sta- 
tion to me in November, and sail for San Francisco in 
his flagship, the New York. Much of the inspection 
work which I had laid out for myself remained uncom- 
pleted, for my time had been fully occupied with other 
matters. The importance of these inspections was so 
great that I determined to complete them before as- 
suming the more exacting duties of commander-in- 
chief, as no additional time could then be found, I was 
sure. 

In pursuance of this plan I left Yokohama, having 
the Yorktown in company, on September 19th, passed 
the bar at the mouth of the Yangtze River at high water 
without trouble, though we stirred up the mud for sev- 
eral miles, and anchored off Wusung, China, on the 
morning of the 23d. On the passage down the coast 
the weather was bad. We were comfortable on the 
Kentucky, but they were not so on the Yorktown, and 
she had to drop out of sight. She could cross the bar 
at any stage of the tide; the Kentucky, drawing so 
much more water, must get over at the top of high 
water. 

The low mud forts about Wusung looked about the 
178 



At Wusung 

same to me as when I had last seen them, thirty-five 
years before. There were more of them and some of 
the guns were heavier, but the general effect was the 
same. Nothing, indeed, changes much in China, except 
where foreigners take a hand — cities grow dirtier, 
graveyards spread out over more country; but the gen- 
eral aspect is unchanged to-day or fifty years from now. 
Things that are purely Chinese cannot be changed un- 
less wiped out and begun anew. I remember asking a 
Russian officer of rank how he proposed to colonise 
Manchuria — by moving in whole Russian families or by 
allowing their soldiers to take Chinese wives and raise 
families. He replied that it would have to be done by 
bringing in whole families, as, if the soldiers married 
Chinese women — many of them had done so — the chil- 
dren would be half Chinese, or more than half, and the 
next generation pure Chinese — in appearance, at least. 
They bred back to the great mass, four hundred mil- 
lions of people, behind the women. It seemed to me 
that everything I saw in China pointed to the same re- 
sult ; one could not change anything Chinese unless one 
eliminated the Chinese element completely in the be- 
ginning. 

Before visiting Wusung I had made arrangements 
for a trip up the Yangtze as far as one of our ships 
could sro. Our missionaries and merchants were scat- 
tered through the valley of this river and the adjoin- 
ing country for hundreds of miles, and the feeling 
among them, since the close of the Boxer trouble, was 
that their lives were constantly in danger. How to 
aid them was a most important question. It was de- 
sirable to look the ground over and see for myself just 

179 



An Admiral's Log 

what could be done, and determine upon some plan of 
rescue if it became necessary. I selected for the trip the 
gunboat Helena, commanded by Captain R, R. Inger- 
soll, an officer of marked ability who had spent much 
time on the river and knew the conditions better than 
any other officer under my command. I also requested 
Lieutenant-Commander Marsh, naval attache for Tokio 
and Pekin, to accompany me, which he kindly con- 
sented to do. During the time he had been on duty 
in the East, this officer had shown astonishing aptitude 
for the work given him. His ability to deal with 
Asiatics, his wonderful tact and courtesy in his inter- 
course with them, added to his professional qualifica- 
tions, which were of the highest order, had enabled him 
to collect a mass of information most useful to me and 
his government. By his untiring energy he had suc- 
ceeded in photographing every important fort and bat- 
tery on the river we were to ascend, and his advice and 
assistance were most valuable to me during the entire 
trip. 

When I had completed my inspection work and was 
about to sail for Wusung, the Austrian cruiser, Maria 
Theresa, came in and anchored. The last time I had 
seen her was off the harbour of Santiago, Cuba, after 
the battle of the 3d of July, 1898. It will be recalled 
that on that occasion our gims had been trained on her, 
and that she narrowly escaped the fate of the Spanish 
ships because her flag was so much like theirs. Upon 
returning the official call of her captain, I found among 
her officers some who had been on board at Santiago, 
and they laughingly admitted that their position on that 
occasion was critical, to say the least! A delicate at- 

180 



On the Yangtze 

tempt on my part to ascertain the real reason for their 
presence off the coast at that particular time failed. 

On September 27th I transferred my flag, staff, and 
band to the Helena, and proceeded up the river. The 
constantly changing channel of the river required the 
services of an expert pilot, and, because of his excellent 
reputation, I selected Mr. Langley, an American, of 
Shanghai, who rendered me good service. The river 
was almost in flood condition, very high stage of water, 
at least, which enabled us to look over many miles of 
the flat, fertile valley of the Yangtze, every foot under 
cultivation as far as the eye could reach. The popula- 
tion was dense ; all the men, women, and children were 
engaged in gathering the enormous crop which the sea- 
son had produced. They were most friendly toward 
us, glad to have us visit them, but this was not the 
case either with their dogs or their cattle; the former 
would bite on the least provocation; the latter, the 
carabao, a clumsy sort of ox with enormous horns, 
would attack us simply because we were not Chinese. 
Hunting parties of officers always found it better to 
have a few Chinese attendants to ward off these savage 
brutes. We were glad to see the abundant crops. So 
long as the people had good supplies of food there 
would probably be no fighting and bloodshed. 

On my way up river I stopped at a few points only. 
It was necessary to take advantage of the high water, 
which would only last for a few weeks at most and 
might begin to fall any day. I anchored only to take 
on coal and supplies and change pilots when necessary. 
The native pilots were a curious lot, able in their line, 
but the most suspicious creatures I ever fell in with. At 
13 181 



An Admiral's Log 

Hankow I employed two of them to take us as far as 
Ichang. They brought with them their own leadsmen, 
for they were afraid our seamen would not give them 
the proper soundings, and their own cook, fearing that 
our cooks would poison them in cooking their food. 
When I saw afterwards what they were eating, I won- ' 
dered that they did not poison themselves! At Ichang 
we had to stop because of the rapids a few miles above 
the city. The Helena drew too much water, and her 
engines were not powerful enough to drive her against 
the force of the current; in fact, it was about all she 
could do to hold on when she was anchored. No vessel 
of her size and strength of battery had ever before come 
so far up the river, eleven hundred miles from Shang- 
hai. The natives were much impressed with her ap- 
pearance, particularly with the guns, mounted so high 
in her military tops that they could command the coun- 
try by firing over the tops of the river banks. This was 
just the thing I wanted them to understand. The 
Yangtze was navigable more than two thousand five 
hundred miles above Ichang, but only specially de- 
signed steamers of high power and small draught could 
make the trip. Trading vessels, Chinese junks, came 
down with the current and made the return trip under 
sail until they reached the rapids, when they were towed 
up by coolies. Paths had been cut in the rocks hun- 
dreds of years ago, worn as smooth as glass now by 
the thousands of feet that had marched over them, tug- 
ging at the tow lines. The English keep a small gun- 
boat of light draught at Ichang the year round; the 
French two such gunboats at Chung King above the 
rapids. 

182 



The Mississippi of the East 

At a favourable moment I secured a comfortable 
house boat for a trip through the first rapid, for time 
did not permit a longer journey. Having stocked her 
with food and water for the day, my staff and our in- 
vited guests went on board, the steam launch of the 
Kentucky took us in tow and, by carefully watching 
the eddies, managed to pull us through to our destina- 
tion without accident. 

The scenery in this gorge, or rapid, is very beau- 
tiful. For thousands of years the great river has rushed 
and swirled between banks of solid rock, gradually 
cutting it away until the walls rise sheer from the river- 
bed to a height of two to four thousand feet, gor- 
geously coloured in exquisite tints found elsewhere, so 
far as I know, only in the Grand Canons of the Colo- 
rado. Surmounting these cliffs, or nestling among 
them, are fine old Chinese temples, well preserved, 
which richly repay one for a visit. Between these verti- 
cal walls the yellow-brown river, the Mississippi of the 
East, tumbles and eddies on its way to the sea, carry- 
ing thousands of tons of products of the interior of this 
wonderful country to the outside world. The rush of 
the current is awe-inspiring, hard to describe, yet not 
unlike the current of the Mississippi, rushing and 
swirling through a break in its banks. At the lowest 
stage of water divers find on the bottom of the river 
beautiful stones, some of them half the size of an egg, 
brought by the current thousands of miles, polished by 
contact with the bottom in their long journey, which 
are valued almost as jewels. I was fortunate in secur- 
ing fine specimens of these, no two of them alike in 
colour, and all beautifully brilliant. 

183 



An Admiral's Log 

Among my callers at Ichang were some very in- 
teresting men. American interests were represented 
entirely by the missionary element, and two fine mem- 
bers of that body, Rev. Mr. Huntington and his daugh- 
ter, told of their labours among the natives. I was 
surprised by the call of a captain of the German army in 
spotless uniform, of neat military bearing, and with an 
air of business withal. When opportunity offered I 
asked him if he was exploring this country for his 
amusement. He replied that he was not, but that he 
was soliciting trade for Germany, and on the follow- 
ing day he was to start on a trip of two hundred and 
fifty miles into the interior for the same purpose. This, 
in a sphere of supposed purely English influence, if 
persisted in, may cause serious friction. It seemed to 
me, without wishing in the remotest degree to reflect 
on their religious work, that our missionaries might, 
while serving the Lord, also do our merchants a good 
turn after the fashion of the German captain. 

The representatives of two great church parties, the 
English Roman Catholic and the French Jesuits, did me 
the honour to call on me. The English Archbishop 
rather complained of the advantage the French had by 
reason of the fact that his government, through diplo- 
matic channels, had secured the right for a native of 
his faith to communicate directly with the Tao-Tai, or 
governor. In case of a dispute between two Chinese, 
over a land suit for instance, one an English Catholic 
and the other a French convert, the French convert, 
by having free access to the Tao-Tai, could have the 
claim settled in his favour before the English Catholic 
could get into court, so to speak. This was interesting, 

184 



At Wuchang 

as was the further point — i. e., that the French were 
making more converts than the others because of the 
finer and more striking- features of their Joss houses 
^(churches). The number and character of their pic- 
tures seemed to attract the Chinese to their faith. The 
Catholic Archbishop was in the orthodox dress of his 
order, while the Frenchman was in Chinese dress, his 
hair in a long pig tail down his back. It was a great 
game these two shrewd men were playing, attempting 
to reform and " civilise " a people who were highly 
civilised a thousand years before the nations they repre- 
sented knew the meaning of the word, when they were, 
in fact, roaming wild in the woods. 

The water began to fall in the river October 7th, 
which caused me to get under way and start down 
stream on the 8th. My visit had been successful and 
I hoped useful. The customs authorities informed me 
that the Helena was the largest ship that had ever vis- 
ited Ichang, that her presence and the fact that she 
could return would have a quieting effect on the restless 
class of the population. We anchored off Hankow on 
the evening of the lotli, and the following morning 
ran over to Wuchang, a few miles above and on the 
opposite side of the river, for the purpose of paying my 
respects to the Viceroy, Cheng-Chi-Tung. 

Lui-Kun-Yu and Cheng-Chi-Tung were the Vice- 
roys of the Yangtze river provinces before and during 
the Boxer troubles. To them, foreigners of all nations 
owe more than to any other two men in China. Of 
great ability, force of character, and judgment, they 
held their people in check, prevented any outbreak, and 
could boast, after the war was over, that not an out- 

185 



An Admiral's Log 

rage had been perpetrated in all the land under their 
control. I hoped to visit both of them but only saw 
one. Lui-Kun-Yu died while we were up the river, and 
our flag flew at half-mast for twenty-four hours in 
honour of his memory. 

When I called on the Viceroy at Wuchang I was 
received in great state, at the same time in a most 
friendly spirit. The guard to receive me consisted of a 
battalion of infantry equal in smartness to any I saw 
in the East of any nationality. Later I saw a part of 
the army, inspected the men, and had a good look 
at them. They were well set up, well uniformed, 
well armed, well disciplined, and looked as if they 
would make good fighters. All told, this army con- 
sisted of about twenty thousand effective, efficient men. 
Cheng-Chi-Tung's course during the Boxer War did 
not meet the approval of her Majesty the Empress 
Dowager, and when the trouble was over she sum- 
moned him to Pekin with the idea, probably, of inflict- 
ing some punishment. From long experience — he was 
over sixty years old — he suspected what was in store 
for him, and, instead of going, replied that he would 
come later, bringing with him fifteen thousand men! 
Her Majesty did not wish to see his men in her capital, 
he did not wish to ascertain either the depth of a well, 
the efficacy of an opium pill, nor the strength of a 
silken cord in the hands of a couple of court eunuchs, 
so the visit was postponed for a long time. Eventually 
I met him in Pekin, and shall have more to say of him 
in connection with my visit to that wonderful city. 

My call on Cheng-Chi-Tung, made at eleven o'clock 
in the morning, was returned the same afternoon by 

1 86 



Viceroy Cheng-Chi-Tung 

him. He was accompanied by a gorgeously dressed 
suite, himself in clothes of very fine material, but not so 
ornate as his suite. We received him with all the hon- 
ours due his rank, and then retired to the cabin for tea 
and talk. The custom of serving tea on occasions of 
ceremony is universal, but, unless understood and prop- 
erly performed, it may give offence. The teacups must 
be of a certain large size, with covers of the same mate- 
rial and design as the cups, so that they look, indeed, 
like inverted saucers. The tea must be strong and 
served without sugar or other " condiment." When 
all have been supplied, the host, followed by his guests, 
raises the cup to his lips with both hands, tips the cover 
a bit with the forefingers, drinks about half the con- 
tents, and replaces the cup on the table. When the 
guest wishes to leave, he raises his cup as the host has 
done, drinks what remains in the cup, and takes his 
'departure. If the host takes the second draught of tea 
without waiting for his guest to do so, it is a signal that 
he wishes to terminate the interview, and so it may be 
considered an insult. 

After our first sip of tea the Viceroy, the most pro- 
gressive of all Chinese, explained to me at length the 
construction and working of his steel plant, blast fur- 
naces, etc. He was prepared to make structural steel of 
fine quality, and was erecting a rail mill of large pro- 
portions for the manufacture of steel rails and all fin- 
ished products to come from raw material found in 
China — iron ore and coal. Then he asked me if I 
thought paper could be made from the fibre of the reeds 
which grew in such profusion along the banks of the 
river or on ground not used for cultivation. I had ex- 

187 



An Admiral's Log 

amined these same reeds and knew that they contained 
a fine, strong fibre that would make excellent paper ; so 
I answered that I thought it could — in fact, I was sure 
of it. For more than an hour he questioned and cross- 
questioned me on this subject: how were the reeds to be 
gathered; to what treatment were they then to be sub- 
jected; how was the fibre to be extracted and how 
was paper to be made from it ; what kind of machinery 
would be necessary; what would it cost; and, finally, 
what was the best American firm to order it from. He 
certainly kept my brains well stirred up for an hour or 
more! Fortunately I had been employed in construct- 
ing a large fibre-extracting plant years before, and 
could, therefore, answer his questions with some degree 
of intelligence. In discussing his steel plant I, of 
course, felt quite at home. During the entire inter- 
view the pipe-bearer to the Viceroy was constantly busy. 
Standing behind his chair, he filled the long-stemmed 
pipe and passed it over the master's shoulders. The 
Viceroy took two or three whiffs. Inhaled the smoke, 
passed the pipe back, and the dose was repeated. When 
he raised his cup, swallowed the remaining contents, 
shook his own hands, and said good-bye, I felt that I 
had had one of the most interesting visits possible. 

On my way down the river I anchored at all impor- 
tant points, communicated with our representatives, and 
learned what I could of conditions generally. The 
question that was troubling me most was the rescue of 
our missionaries in case of an outbreak, which was 
threatening because of the death of Viceroy Lui-Kun- 
Yu and the assuming by Cheng-Chi-Tung of his func- 
tions at Nanking. It was thought by many that the 

i88 



At Nanking 

unruly element would take advantage of this occasion 
to break out into open rioting, murder all foreigners, 
and kick up a rumpus generally. 

We arrived at Wuhu on the 14th of October, and at 
once communicated with Dr. Hart, in charge of the 
American missionary hospital at that point, and ar- 
ranged with him to receive and care for all Americans 
and other foreigners who should apply to him in case 
the threatened trouble came. The position of the hos- 
pital and surrounding buildings was such that I could 
defend them with a small landing force until ships 
could come to the rescue. I sent notices to all the mis- 
sionaries I could reach of this plan, and requested them 
to start at once for the rendezvous when they felt the 
time had come. This was about all that could be done 
at that time; later on a more comprehensive scheme 
was devised and put in force. 

When we reached Nanking I found that our consul 
had made arrangements for me to call on the acting 
Viceroy. The following day, accompanied by my staff, 
I went to the city, made the call, and was received with 
ceremony and cordiality. The Yamen (residence of 
the Viceroy) was surrounded by a large body of 
troops and crowded with Chinese officials, whose faces 
clearly indicated that they, at least, had heard the 
rumours of trouble to come. I was escorted by high 
officials to the Yamen of the late Viceroy, where I 
placed a wreath upon his coffin, which gave great satis- 
faction to the natives present. We were invited to 
partake of luncheon in a room adjoining the one in 
which the body was lying in state. The day was in- 
tensely hot, we were in our special full-dress uniforms, 

189 



An Admiral's Log 

the embalming of the body had not been carefully done, 
and it can be imagined how we enjoyed our food ! Eti- 
quette required that we should not remove our heavy 
chapeaux; the swarms of flies buzzed and bit, and the 
odours from the adjoining room filled the air; but eat 
we must, and eat we did, though we did not enjoy 
it. It was a great relief when we again reached 
the open air, dense as it was with dust, and started for 
home. 

In the harbour of Nanking I found a great many 
junks (Chinese trading vessels) flying the American 
flag. This gave them a great advantage over vessels 
flying the Chinese ensign in the matter of duties if they 
traded up the river. Tao-Tais of the different provinces 
could not collect duties from a vessel flying our flag, 
and the " squeeze," which often amounted to as much 
as the duty, would not be exacted for fear of the con- 
sequences which would be sure to follow. It seemed 
curious that so many Chinese merchants at one place 
could be entitled to the protection of our flag, and upon 
inquiry of our consul — who was clean and honest, one 
of the best in the East — I was told that the vessels came 
from Shanghai and had secured their papers from the 
consulate at that port. I requested the consul to notify 
each of the vessels that I would start an investigation 
at once and find out how they came by this right; if I 
found that any of them were not bona-fide American 
citizens, I would have them severely punished. Then 
most of the flags came down ! Later the consul at 
Shanghai was removed for various offences which 
could not pass the searching scrutiny of Mr. Pierce, 
Assistant Secretary of State, who was sent out to inves- 

190 



American-China Development Co. 

tigate. And this consul was not the only one who came 
to grief in the same way. 

It was very important that we should have a good 
ship, with a clear-headed captain in command, at Nan- 
king when the new Viceroy took office. Captain Inger- 
soll was the man for the duty — firm, of excellent judg- 
ment, and, above all, well versed in treaty rights and 
obligations. I was indeed fortunate in having such an 
officer commanding a ship in such excellent condition 
and discipline at my disposal. That the Helena might 
be in all respects ready for this important duty, it was 
necessary that I should get back to Wusung as quickly 
as possible. Therefore, on the 17th of October, I trans- 
ferred my flag again to the Kentucky and sent Captain 
Ingersoll on his mission. I left my temporary flagship 
with regret. Every officer and man on board of her had 
done his best to make me and my staff comfortable and 
to give us a good time, and they had succeeded to my 
entire satisfaction. The example set by these officers 
and men might well be followed by others. It is too 
often felt that the presence of a flag officer on board is 
a fit occasion to show him how unwelcome he is. 

During my stay at Wusung I obtained from various 
sources the details of the most important American in- 
terest at that time in this section of China — the conces- 
sion to the American-China Development Company, 
whose agent, a brilliant New York lawyer, Mr. Clar- 
ence Cary, I afterwards met and had the pleasure of 
entertaining. An old acquaintance of mine, I had made 
the trip across the Pacific with him in the Gaelic, and 
the more I saw of him the greater was my admiration 
for his remarkable attainments. 

191 



An Admiral's Log 

The concession mentioned above had been granted 
the previous year for the exclusive right to construct 
a railroad from Canton to Hankow, a distance approxi- 
mately of seven hundred miles. Starting from Canton, 
the road was to follow the valley of the Pehkiang about 
one hundred and fifty miles; then for thirty miles over 
a divide, with a maximum elevation of six hundred feet 
above the valley, to the valley of the Siang River, and 
to follow that to its junction with the Yangtze; thence 
to Wuchang, opposite Hankow. The route thus chosen 
lies along that followed by the Chinese traders between 
north and south China for centuries past, and along 
this line numerous commercial cities have grown up be- 
cause of this enormous trade. The route had been 
surveyed in 1896 and 1897, but, owing to the disturb- 
ances in the interior of the country and because of the 
Boxer outbreak, no progress was made until about one 
year before the time of my visit, when the final terms 
of the concession were ratified by the Pekin authorities. 

Under the concession, the road was to be of broad 
gauge, well built, and completed as far as practicable 
within three years ; the company to start with a paid-in 
capital of three millions of dollars gold, authorised to 
issue bonds, guaranteed by the road property, to the 
extent of forty millions gold, bearing five per cent in- 
terest. The concession was for eighty years; at the 
expiration of that time the road was to revert to the 
Chinese government upon payment of the market value 
of the stock, but the government reserved the right to 
purchase it upon the same terms at any time after forty 
years. The rolling stock and material for building the 
road is to be purchased wherever desired, but the com.- 

192 



The Canton-Hankow Railway 

pany has an agreement with the Belgian Syndicate, now 
engaged in building a railway from Hankow to Pekin, 
by which Belgium is to be given preference in the pur- 
chase of material, provided it cannot be bought more 
advantageously in the United States. 

At the time of which I am writing the American 
company had opened offices in Shanghai for general 
management of its affairs, and was preparing to begin 
work at both ends of the line — Canton and Wuchung. 
The management was to be entirely in the hands of 
Americans. The bonds were to be floated abroad, but 
the Chinese could purchase if they so desired. 

Cheng-Chi-Tung, as I have before stated, was Vice- 
roy of the Hunan province. He was, without doubt, 
the most progressive of all Chinese officials, and deeply 
interested in the completion of this road. By it he 
could distribute the output of his various mills through- 
out its entire length. He issued proclamations to the 
local mandarins along the line to be followed to fur- 
nish all labour desired, and to afford every assistance 
to the engineers engaged in the work. 

The route of the road lies through the richest and 
most populous part of the Chinese Empire, and was the 
first step toward bringing the enormous wealth of the 
interior cities into touch with shipping centres. The 
natural deposits of iron, coal, and other minerals are 
supposed to be very valuable, and the company was 
granted the right to construct and run branch lines to 
any mines which might be found along its course. 

On the whole, it may be confidently said that this 
concession, with its attendant privileges, was the most 
valuable yet granted by the Chinese government to the 

193 



An Admiral's Log 

people of any country, and if carried out as then in- 
tended it would greatly enhance American importance 
and prestige in the East. Upon the completion of this 
line and that under construction of the Belgian Syn- 
dicate from Hankow to Pekin, Canton and Southern 
China will be placed in direct railway communication, 
via Pekin and the English line, to Shan Hai Kwan, 
and the Manchurian lines, through Newchwang and 
the Trans-Siberian line, with western Europe. 

All information about this concession was of great 
interest to me for many reasons, mainly because I felt 
sure that sooner or later I should be called upon to 
protect, maybe to rescue, the foreigners engaged in 
construction work which was to be under American 
management. To avoid passing through graveyards, 
which cover a wonderful amount of territory in China, 
the projected road would have to be very crooked, in- 
volving much additional expense, which, I was sure, 
the management did not contemplate. If run through 
these graveyards, I was sure that serious trouble would 
follow, for the Chinese hold the graveyards of their 
people as very sacred, and will not allow them to be in- 
terfered with. It was not long before my views proved 
correct. A working party began cutting through a 
graveyard; and to avoid it meant going many miles 
out of their way or removing the bodies interred there 
to a new location. Friction was the result, and a gun- 
boat, with a determined officer in command, reached 
the point with great difficulty in time to rescue the 
party. There was no large river reaching far into the 
country, and navigation through the canals and small 
streams was most difficult. 

194 



CHAPTER XVII 

IN COMMAND OF THE ASIATIC STATION 

My work at Wusung completed, I hurried back to 
-^Yokohama to meet the commander-in-chief, who had 
X notified me that I was to reheve him. On October 29th 
the New York flew the signal, " By direction of the 
Secretary of the Navy, I turn over to you the com- 
mand of the Asiatic station," tripped her anchor, broke 
out her long homeward-bound pennant, and sailed for 
San Francisco. There was much cheering, band play- 
ing, and saluting as Admiral Rodgers passed out to sea. 
He had been a most popular commander-in-chief. The 
men of the fleet knew that he was my cherished per- 
sonal friend, which led to the ships being what we call 
" chum ships." There was much good feeling between 
the crews of the two flagships, for men, as a rule, fol- 
low the example set by their officers. If they are 
" chummy," then the crews are the same. 

The order giving me command of the entire station 
more than doubled the work and responsibility, which 
I had found quite sufficient as squadron commander, 
but the promotion was what I had been looking for, and 
I was more than willing to undertake what it brought 
with it. The records of the station were transferred to 
the Kentucky, and I spent many days and nights, as- 
sisted by my staff, making myself familiar with all that 

195 



An Admiral's Log 

had taken place on the station, particularly in the Phil- 
ippine division. I issued the order assuming com- 
mand, notified all our diplomatic and consular agents 
and all foreign commanders, and prepared for hard 
work. 

Of the many important matters turned over to me 
by the late commander-in-chief, one required immediate 
and close attention. The Navy Department had or- 
dered that all available ships on the station be assem- 
bled at Manila during the v^inter for extensive fleet 
work and manoeuvres; but the character of the work 
and the extent of the manoeuvres were left for me to 
determine. I was entirely in accord with the depart- 
ment, recognising the absolute necessity for the exer- 
cises they had ordered. As a preliminary, I directed 
all the ships of the northern squadron, including the 
monitors Monterey and Monadnock, to proceed to 
Amoy, China, where I would give them a few lessons 
in fleet work before sailing for the south. The two 
monitors had remained at anchor so long that the pro- 
priety of sending them to sea was doubtful, for they 
might meet with some serious trouble because of the 
lack of experience of their engine-room forces. The 
best way to determine this, and many other things as 
well, was to send them to sea and keep them there a 
reasonable time for practice. They went when ordered, 
arrived at Amoy in due time, did their work, and re- 
turned to their stations much improved by their cruise. 
Neither of them could go to Manila ; one had to remain 
at Shanghai as guardship, the other at Canton, where 
the turbulent population was constantly threatening to 
make trouble for all foreign residents. 

196 



Order for Torpedo Practice 

A large number of officers — all services had such — 
believed implicitly in the value of torpedo boats, and 
thought, or pretended to think, that these much-talked- 
of terrors of the sea could destroy any battleship afloat 
without serious risk to themselves. I was not in this 
school, and did not believe then, nor do I now, that a 
fleet of battleships is in serious danger from this cause 
if proper precautions are taken and the battleship men 
can use their guns with accuracy. A ship will occasion- 
ally be destroyed by torpedo boats or submarines — a 
man will occasionally slip on a banana peel and break 
his neck. We may look for such accidents, but there 
won't be many of them. We had no torpedo boats 
to practise with, and a substitute had to be pro- 
vided, for I fiilly intended to find out, if I could, 
just how effective the fire of a battleship would prove 
against an attacking boat. I quote the following 
order issued at that time to show how I meant to 
carry out this intention. I believe we were the first in 
all the navies of the world to conduct such an experi- 
ment: 

Flagship Kentucky, 
Yokohama, Japan, October 31, 1902. 

Sir: 

I. For use as a towing target during the prospective 
manoeuvres of the fleet you will please have constructed 
and ready for service on my arrival a suitable target 
upon the following general lines: 

A condemned sailing launch, or other large boat, to 
be built up to resemble as nearly as possible a thwart- 
ship section of a torpedo boat, with a light wood or 
cork filling, in order to ensure her floating as high out 
of the water as possible after being struck a number of 
14 197 



An Admiral's Log 

times, all to be covered with canvas and painted the 
dull black torpedo colour. 

2. I desire that the target, when towed, should re- 
semble as closely as practicable a torpedo boat coming 
bow on to make an attack, and I leave the details of 
building up the target to your judgment as to the most 
suitable manner from the materials to be had. 

Respectfully, 
(Signed) R. D. Evans. 

This order was sent to Rear-Admiral Wildes, com- 
manding the southern squadron. The target was built 
by Captain Couden at the Cavite naval station, and its 
fate will be given later on. Orders were sent at the 
same time to prepare gun platforms for the four-inch 
guns of the Princeton and Annapolis, as I intended to 
land them to provide defence for a temporary advanced 
base in the contemplated drills. 

The question of how our officers should dress for 
dinner had caused much discussion in the service, par- 
ticularly on the Asiatic station. In all other navies a 
" mess dress " was prescribed and worn. We were re- 
quired to provide ourselves with evening uniform and 
mess jackets, but it was not imperative that we should 
use them except when signal was made to that effect. 
The desirability of having all officers appear in a neat 
and comfortable uniform at dinner was so evident that 
I issued an order on the subject, which I give here. It 
will prove of interest to naval readers, since it shows 
the first official order on the subject. The matter was 
later settled by the incorporation into the Naval Regu- 
lations of an order to the same effect. A few officers 
held the opinion that the commander-in-chief could not 

198 



Order for Dinner Uniform 

legally compel them to appear for their meals in any 
particular uniform. One of these took his dinner in 
his room for several days after the order was given, 
then quietly did as he was told. A few days later, 
when the ship was coaling, word was passed that offi- 
cers would not dress for dinner that day, whereupon 
this same officer was heard to say, " I can't see why 
coaling ship should prevent me from dressing like a 
gentleman for my dinner ! " Officers will growl as 
well as enlisted men. 

Flagship Kentucky, 
YoKQHAMA, Japan, November 3, 1902. 
Fleet General Order No. 4. 

The uniform for dinner for all commissioned offi- 
cers and midshipmen on the station, except those at- 
tached to the small gunboats having only one or two 
line officers on board, shall be either evening dress or 
mess jackets. 

The designation of the particular uniform is left to 
the commanding officer, but either one or the other 
must be worn at dinner. 

(Signed) R. D. Evans, 
Rear-Admiral U. S. Navy, 
Commander-in-Chief U. S. Naval 
Force on Asiatic Station. 

All the ships on the station, except the small gun- 
boats in the Philippines, were assembled at Amoy at the 
end of November. Gun pointers were constantly firing 
with the ping-pong machines. Boat drills were held 
daily, and men were landed for shore drills in a large 
field, the use of which had been secured by our consul. 
In a word, preliminary drills of all kinds were constant, 
and the good effect was seen at once. I had made up 

199 



An Admiral's Log 

my mind that we must have more athletics for the men, 
and issued orders on the subject. Part of each day 
must be devoted to that sort of work. When the drills 
were over the men were landed at a point convenient 
to the athletic field, and for two hours baseball, foot- 
ball, and track athletics were indulged in. It was nec- 
essary that the officers and men should work hard at 
their drills on board ship; it was also of great impor- 
tance that they should be kept in proper condition by 
playing hard on shore. " To be more ready to fight," 
as the President directed, involved something besides 
hard work at the guns. This something was proper 
physical training, and to give it to the crews in some 
pleasant way was my object. It is easy to work men 
until they are discontented and unhappy, and nearly as 
easy to make them do the same amount of work, some 
of it in the shape of play, and have them in excellent 
condition, if one knows how to do it. 

A regatta was arranged for winding up our work 
at Amoy; sailing races and pulling races for all classes 
of boats, manned by different classes of men — seamen, 
marines, and engine-room crews. This was made more 
interesting by the fact that the British battleship Goli- 
ath, commanded by Captain Henderson, an old friend 
of mine, had anchored in the harbour, and her officers 
and crew were anxious to join in our sports. They were 
handicapped in pulling races because their boats were 
so much heavier than ours. To remove this drawback 
and give them a fair chance to win, I requested them 
to select such of our boats as they fancied, which they 
did, and the boats were turned over to them for a week 
or more, that they might practise in them. The races 

200 



Island of Formosa 

were finely contested, but our English friends failed to 
win in any of them except the sailing ones, in which 
the superiority of their boats was manifest. The sail- 
ing barge of the Kentucky, the admiral's boat, was de- 
cidedly the smartest boat of all under sail. I had pur- 
chased a set of racing sails for her in Yokohama, and 
Lieutenant Evans handled her in such a seamanlike 
manner that she easily led the large fleet of boats. She 
was never beaten in a sailing race either on that station 
or at home until her rig was changed. The Amoy re- 
gatta started a spirit of sport which continued during 
our stay in Eastern waters, and contributed largely to 
the excellent physical condition of our crews. 

At the conclusion of the war between Japan and 
China the former country had demanded the cession of 
the island of Formosa. China, unable to resist the 
demand, had yielded, and the island, with its wild and 
savage tribes, had passed from under the Dragon flag. 
From its geographical position it was a most valuable 
base for operations against any part of the coast of 
China, particularly so at Amoy, which was in about 
the same latitude and only a short distance away. 
When this change of ownership took place we were 
looking for a coaling station in that vicinity, and the 
Chinese government, aware of our friendly feeling, was 
in favour of giving us one. The story is told that the 
governor of Amoy province asked a naval commander 
of our service to hoist our flag and take possession of 
the harbour of Amoy, saying that no resistance would 
be made, and that the question of Japan ever seizing it 
would be settled ! Had such an offer been made to, let 
us say, a German or a French naval officer, what would 

20I 



An Admiral's Log 

have been the result? Our man had to report the mat- 
ter to Washington, which he no doubt did, but nothing 
came of it. If Mr. Theodore Roosevelt had been Presi- 
dent, I think we should have acquired a coaling station 
at Amoy. Such stations are, in some respects, as im- 
portant as an interoceanic canal! No one can doubt 
what the result would have been had such an offer been 
made to one of the foreign officers I have mentioned. 

Formosa is valuable for two reasons only: she has 
a wonderful climate for tea raising, and she has great 
strategic value as a military base. Whether these are 
of sufficient importance to warrant the expenditure of 
blood and money they have cost is a question for 
Japan to consider, but I think we may assume with- 
out fear of contradiction that either Germany or France 
would be glad of the bargain at many times the price 
Japan paid. 

Before going to Manila it was necessary that the Ken- 
tucky should be docked and have her bottom painted. 
Hong Kong was the only place where this could be 
done, and I therefore ran down to that port, taking 
with me most of the vessels assembled at Amoy. It 
was my desire to meet, personally, the officer in com- 
mand of the English fleet, Vice-Admiral Sir Cyprian 
A. C. Bridge, W'ho had courteously offered me the use 
of the buoys in man-of-war anchorage when not in use 
by his own ships. I arrived on December 3d, had my 
interview with Sir Cyprian, made the numerous calls 
necessary at this important port, and then placed the 
Kentucky in dock. During the next two years I saw 
this British admiral and his officers on many occasions. 
I came to know them well, and with some of them 

202 



At Canton 

formed lasting friendships, and received from them 
the kindness and courtesy they always extend to men 
of our service. I cannot overstate my admiration for 
them. Admiral Bridge, justly esteemed one of the 
leaders in his profession, though a very busy man with 
the great responsibilities of his command, always had 
time to receive a visit from me and listen to any sug- 
gestion I had to make with reference to matters in 
which we were jointly concerned. My relations with 
him and his gallant comrades were such as to increase 
the friendly feeling existing, which I sincerely hope 
will always continue between our two countries. 

During the time my flagship was in dock I again 
transferred to the Helena, she having returned from 
her important mission at Nanking, and ran up to Can- 
ton to see for myself what the conditions were at that 
important point. The air was full of rumours of ap- 
proaching trouble ; riots and bloodshed were anticipated 
on all sides, and I was curious to find out how much 
foundation there really was for all the excitement and 
unrest that existed, I hurried one of the monitors 
back to the city and had her moored where her heavy 
guns would afford the greatest amount of protection to 
the residents of the foreign quarter. Many years be- 
fore the time of which I am writing, the Chinese gov- 
ernment had granted " Shameen," an island formed by 
the river and a large canal, to foreigners as a place of 
residence, and here they were settled in handsome 
houses provided by their different governments. The 
only communication between Shameen and the great 
city of Canton was by means of a wide bridge over the 
canal, and this was controlled by heavy gates at either 

203 



An Admiral's Log 

end, always closed at night. As additional precaution, 
this bridge and the canal, for the whole length of the 
island, were under control of the guns of different 
foreign ships, ours being the largest of them all. 

Our consul had made the necessary preparations for 
a visit of ceremony to the Viceroy, which I made under 
guard of Chinese soldiers. As we passed through the 
narrow, crowded, filthy streets I was aware of many 
scowling faces, but beyond this there was no unfriendly 
demonstration. The Viceroy was most friendly and 
gracious in his reception, but plainly worried over the 
situation, yet somewhat relieved, I thought, when I as- 
sured him that all foreigners would be amply protected 
in case of trouble. His anxiety about his own fate was 
also evident, and the only comfort I could give him on 
this point was that if he went on board of our ship he 
would be out of harm's way. Our consul was regarded 
by the American contingent on Shameen as a person 
who did not reflect much credit on our government, but 
every one said, "If you want anything from the Vice- 
roy, the consul can get it." During my interview with 
him it was apparent to me that the consul had un- 
bounded influence, but why this was so I could not dis- 
cover. When our consulates were inspected by Mr. 
Pierce this man was removed and did not succeed in 
getting himself reinstated, though he used the newspa- 
pers widely and brought much political influence to bear 
on the President. 

As the Viceroy was most confident of the loyalty of 
his troops, I did not see just how there could be any 
serious trouble unless somebody imported arms for the 
proposed insurgents. If this importation was stopped, 

204 



From Hong Kong to Manila 

the uprising would not materialise. Therefore, to stop 
it was the most important thing. I had heard of vice- 
roys and others high in authority who had been en- 
gaged in just this kind of business, so I did not discuss 
the subject with him, but I did instruct an officer to 
watch carefully the freight receipts from Hong Kong 
and to let me know if any considerable number of g^ns 
came in and to whom they were consigned. A few 
weeks later a steamer load of cement in barrels came 
along. When opened, the barrels were found to con- 
tain Mauser rifles, very carefully packed. That partic- 
ular revolution ended then and there! 

Upon my return to Hong Kong, all repair work 
being completed, I sailed with the assembled vessels for 
Cavite, where I anchored on December i8th. The 
passage over was very rough for the smaller ships, but 
by running at slow speed they managed to escape seri- 
ous injury. 

Long before my arrival the commander of the 
southern division had been advised of the general 
nature of the contemplated manoeuvres, and had di- 
rected all the vessels of his division to be in readiness 
to move promptly. Above all else, I wanted to know 
just how fast each ship could steam and how long she 
could maintain her maximum speed. Commanding of- 
ficers were directed to report on this point, and when 
they had done so I was surprised and pleased to hear 
that the slowest vessel on the station could make eleven 
knots and keep up that speed for twenty-four hours at 
least. My feelings can be better imagined than de- 
scribed when I found by actual test that most of them 
could make about eight knots, and no more ! 

20S 



An Admiral's Log 

On the passage from Hong Kong the gunboats 
Helena and Wilmington had threshed about in the 
heavy sea which boarded them constantly, threatening 
to tear their masts out and sweep their upper decks. 
Passing in through the passage now so famous by 
Dewey's daring act on a certain May morning, we 
anchored off the navy yard at Cavite. The American 
flag was flying over the station; off in the distance we 
could see it also floating over the forts about the city of 
Manila. It caused a curious sensation to see our be- 
loved flag displayed over this foreign, tropical city, and 
I am not sure that I did not feel that it was out of place. 
However, there it was; it had cost many valuable lives 
to put it there, and it would cost many more before it 
could ever come down. 

A large number of troops were in and about the 
city, quartered in such buildings as could be secured, 
or else under canvas. Others were scattered about the 
other islands, garrisoning such points as were consid- 
ered of importance in the general scheme of reducing 
to order the recently rebellious population and keeping 
the peace. Among the troops so employed were eight 
hundred or a thousand officers and men of the United 
States marine corps, divided into small guards sta- 
tioned at various points in the country about Manila 
and Cavite. As the government of the islands had 
passed into civil hands, these soldiers could not do any 
military duty unless called upon to do so by some civil 
officer; they could not, in fact, of their own volition 
stop the ladrones from stealing cattle in broad daylight 
and plain sight. The Insurrectos, who, under the lead- 
ership of Aguinaldo, had fought our soldiers, were 

206 



With Governor Taft 

now changed into ladrones, and must be dealt with by 
the civil authoriti'js, who in many cases had been lead- 
ers under the first named and were in sympathy with 
the last. It was a condition of affairs requiring great 
judgment and foresight to prevent serious trouble. 
Fortunately for us, Governor Taft was at the helm in 
Manila, and gave to the solution of the problem his 
untiring energy. As long as the marines could do their 
proper duty as soldiers, suppress disorder, and prevent 
robberies, I was perfectly willing to have them so em- 
ployed, and, indeed, was glad to have them doing such 
good work. When I found, however, that they were 
being demoralised by drinking bino, and really had no 
duties to perform, I decided to call them all in, put them 
in camp under a competent officer, and hold them in 
readiness for service in China or Korea, where I was 
sure they would soon be required. 

When I had explained the situation to Governor 
Taft, he agreed with me that the proposed plan should 
be carried out, and the necessary orders were issued. 
Then came a protest, signed by many, stating that I 
was endangering the safety of the peaceful popula- 
tion by taking the marines away. But as I was con- 
vinced that most of the so-called peaceful population 
were, in reality, ladrones, and only wanted the men 
kept on the stations that they might get as much money 
out of them as possible, I paid no attention to the pro- 
tests. A fine camp was established at Olongapo under 
command of Major Karmany, where the men were 
kept under strict discipline. They were contented and 
happy, and a finer lot of soldiers I never saw. When a 
sudden call came for one hundred men to go to Seoul 

207 



An Admirals Log 

they were off in four hours, fully equipped and with 
ample provisions and ammunition. 

Manila, at this time, was not a pleasant place to 
visit. There was but one hotel, and that very small and 
ill-kept. Transportation about the city was by means 
of carriages — poor, dilapidated vehicles, for which one 
had to pay ridiculously high rates. There were no 
street-car lines, and the streets were so badly paved 
that driving about them was no pleasure. If we ven- 
tured out of the city, we were likely to be murdered 
by the natives, who hated us and our rul& worse than 
they ever hated the Spaniards. Our people had done 
wonders in the way of cleaning and making sani- 
tary the nasty place, but the odours that assailed one 
on every hand showed how much was still to be done 
in that line. The officers of the army could and did 
spend much of their time in the Army and Navy Club, 
where there was good cheer and comfort, as compared 
with the rest of the city, but we of the navy were so 
far away that we could not often enjoy this luxury. 
We had to remain on board our ships and endure the 
smells that came from the foul water about us. This 
water was so full of phosphorus that after bathing in it 
for a few days in succession we could taste it on our 
skins, and the smell of it nauseated many. After I had 
completed my round of official calls I rarely ever vis- 
ited the city; I was too busily occupied with the duties 
of the fleet and lived on my flagship. I am, therefore, 
well posted in the matter of the discomforts officers had 
to endure. Cholera was raging all over the islands, and 
provisions were expensive and difficult to obtain. We 
lived almost entirely from tins which we had brought 

208 



Tactical Work 

with us from Hong Kong. Fortunately we had a re- 
frigerating ship which supplied us with excellent fresh 
meat from Australia. 

To carry out the wishes of the Navy Department as 
far as possible in the matter of drills, and at the same 
time keep up the current work of the station, I organ- 
ised a fleet of twenty vessels in order to secure tactical 
evolutions of real value. In addition to such tactical 
work as could be done with this force, I laid out a 
scheme covering the kind of practical service we might 
most likely be called upon to render. This contem- 
plated the seizure of an advanced base, with necessary 
defence — mines and batteries — to protect the fleet 
against a superior naval force until re-enforcements 
could arrive from home. Olongapo was designated as 
the place to be seized, and Subig Bay, in which the fleet 
would be anchored, the body of water to be held. The 
general board in Washington had succeeded, after a 
long struggle, in having a few of the articles necessary 
for such a movement sent to Cavite, but most of them 
had to be improvised in the fleet. We had neither 
mines nor torpedoes, and only a few small guns suitable 
to mount for the defence of the mine fields after the 
mines had been planted. However short we might be 
in material, we, nevertheless, had the desire to do what 
was required of us. We did the best we could, not only 
with the tools furnished, but with all those we could 
make ourselves. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

PRACTICE DRILLS AT SUBIG BAY 

The day after Christmas, 1902, I started from 
Manila Bay with the fleet of twenty ships to begin our 
practice. Of all the fleets that ever weighed anchor, 
this was undoubtedly the most ill-assorted, A twelve- 
thousand-ton battleship, the Kentucky, my flagship, was 
at the head of the column ; then a cruiser, the New Or- 
leans ; then two gunboats, the Helena and Wilmington ; 
then four gunboats of the Vicksburg class; followed 
by twelve vessels, most of them captured from the 
Spanish, and to which it would be hard to give names. 
The last one in the column was a gunboat of about fifty 
tons ! The idea of doing much with such a heterogene- 
ous fleet, in a tactical sense, was out of the question. 
Their appearance was grotesque. Before we had been 
steaming one hour the speed had to be reduced to allow 
some of the smaller ones to keep in position, and before 
the second hour was completed four or five of them 
were being towed by the larger gunboats. 

In the afternoon we approached the entrance to 
Subig Bay. The Kentucky manoeuvred to cover the 
smaller vessels as they ran in before a supposed supe- 
rior naval force. When the last one was safely inside, 
Captain Stockton planted a double row of mines across 
the entrance and anchored in position to defend this 

210 



Mines and Countermines 

mine field until batteries could be erected for that pur- 
pose. The handling of my flagship during this manoeu- 
vre was such as to bring from all who saw it unstinted 
praise. Captain Stockton showed his ability as an able 
and accomplished seaman. In less than one hour both 
entrances to the bay were so mined that an enemy 
would not attempt to force an entrance until a channel 
had been cleared by exploding or removing a number 
of the mines. To prevent this until the shore batteries 
had been constructed was the business of the fleet; and 
to it we bent our energies. 

Grande Island, at the entrance to the bay, was the 
key to the position. Behind the high points of this 
island, and protected by them from the fire of the ene- 
my's ships, I anchored enough ships to keep boats from 
successfully countermining. The boats of all the ships, 
except the g^ardships, attempted every night to destroy 
the mines. Umpires were appointed and rules pub- 
lished, so that these attacks might be as realistic as pos- 
sible. 

If a boat was detected approaching the mine field, 
or while actually on it, the guardship opened fire, using 
blank cartridges, of course, and discharged a red rocket 
as a signal to the boat that she was discovered. The 
boat must then fire a green rocket and withdraw. 
Search lights were, of course, in constant use. If any 
boat succeeded in remaining undiscovered on the mine 
field for five minutes, she was to fire a red rocket, plant 
a countermine with a buoy bearing the name of the ship 
to which she belonged, and then withdraw. The at- 
tacks were well planned and intelligently carried out, 
but were successful in only two cases that I now recall 

211 



An Admiral's Log 

One of the vessels fitted out a boat with khaki-col- 
oured canvas, and with this a party crept onto the mine 
field undiscovered and planted their buoy. 

In the other case a midshipman, with two compan- 
ions, swam out, towing a small raft containing the 
countermine, and planted his buoy without detection. 
The water was full of man-eating sharks, and, as I 
knew the mother of the midshipman, I issued orders 
that the swimming mode of attack would be discon- 
tinued! A week of this exercise showed wonderful 
ingenuity on the part of the officers and men; it also 
convinced me that a properly laid mine field, if defended 
by guns, would prove very troublesome to an enemy, but 
without the defending guns the mines would amount to 
nothing. 

In the meantime the batteries for Grande Island had 
been constructed and the guns placed in position and 
manned by a detachment of marines commanded by 
Major Karmany. Camp Evans was established in the 
rear of the main battery, where the marines, living un- 
der service conditions, were most efficient in the per- 
formance of their duties. The officers and crews of the 
Vicksburg and Annapolis showed most commendable 
zeal, worked all night, or in the blazing tropical sun, 
until the four-inch guns of their ships were on the 
beach. Not content with this, they helped the marines 
to cut roads through the undergrowth, drag the guns 
nearly half a mile, and place them in position. The 
platforms for the guns were made of heavy timber 
at the Cavite Naval Station, so arranged that they could 
be taken apart, transported to the place where they 
were to be used, and there assembled. After the bat- 

212 



Fleet Movements 

teries were completed, which was done in wonderfully 
quick time, I ordered them to have target practice, and, 
to the surprise of every one, no sign of weakness devel- 
oped, though regular service ammunition was used. 
Four batteries were constructed and thus tested ; two of 
them had four-inch guns and two were six-pounders. 
In every respect the work was well done and the prac- 
tice most beneficial to officers and men. At the end of 
ten days the guns were dismounted and returned to 
their ships, and this part of the manoeuvres was con- 
cluded. 

On the way back to Manila a few fleet movements 
were attempted, but I was soon convinced that no good 
results could be secured in this way ; the ships were too 
dissimilar to work together, and the officers had not 
had sufficient practice in preliminary drills. It was like 
trying to learn arithmetic without knowing the multi- 
plication table, so I determined to go back and learn the 
multiplication table first. 

Having selected six ships that could be made to 
work reasonably well together, I drilled them pretty 
constantly. Each morning we would get under way 
while it was yet cool, proceed to a safe distance from 
shore, spend the day manoeuvring, and at night anchor 
with the fleet. Satisfied that this was the kind of train- 
ing we needed, and that as much good as possible 
might follow, I detailed the captains one after another 
to command this drill fleet, thus giving them valuable 
experience. One may read and study about handling 
ships, which is no doubt a good thing to do, but the 
way — the real way — to learn it is actually to handle the 
ships under way at sea. 

15 213 



An Admiral's Loe" 



& 



As the time approached for our target practice, a 
fine range was laid out in the bay well clear of the 
shipping. Targets were prepared at the naval station 
ready for use, and officers and men gave their undi- 
vided attention preparing to make a record. When the 
Kentucky and the New Orleans had fired we were sat- 
isfied of two things: first, that the guns would hit the 
target when properly aimed ; second, that the new sights 
we had installed furnished the means by which we 
could do so. The rapidity of fire had been wonderfully 
increased as a result of the ping-pong practice and 
the use of the loading machine, but there was room 
yet for great improvement. The Merritt sight which 
had been fitted to one of the turret guns of the Ken- 
tucky gave such good results that I ordered it fitted for 
all turret guns. I also ordered high-power telescopes 
for all broadside gims not already so fitted. 

The time had now arrived to test the torpedo- 
boat question — to see if a torpedo boat could get near 
enough to a battleship to discharge a torpedo with a 
fair chance of hitting her. The target I had ordered 
built was ready, and fairly represented a section of a 
torpedo boat coming bows on. A powerful tug boat, 
capable of steaming seventeen knots, was detailed to tow 
this target, which was fitted with a towline of sufficient 
length to avoid the probability of accident. The officer 
who was to do the towing was directed to get under 
way, get out of sight, and at night, between the hours 
of ten and twelve, find the Kentucky and tow the tar- 
get at her as nearly as possible at right angles. This 
was to simulate a torpedo boat running at the beam of 
the ship. As soon as it was dark the Kentucky weighed 

214 



Torpedo-Boat Tests 

anchor, stood out into the bay, and began using her 
search Hghts to pick up the tug or the target. 

The night was ideal for the attack — drizzHng rain, 
stiff breeze, and some mist. When discovered, the five- 
inch guns of the ship were to fire, but for thirty seconds 
only, and then the target would be examined for hits. 
About a quarter of eleven the smoke of the tug showed 
up under the beams of the search light, and a few min- 
utes later a low, white line was detected on the water. 
This was recognised as the bow wave of the torpedo 
boat, or target, and two range shots were fired — one 
struck short and the other over — which gave us the 
range. The signal to open fire was then given. Strict 
silence reigned on the ship, except for the rapid firing 
of the guns. Every man was at his station, and all 
were keenly alert. It was very like the real thing and 
most exciting. I was watching the target, the outlines 
of which were barely visible when the firing began, and 
at the second shot I saw it list over to one side and 
then quickly right itself. One shot at least had cer- 
tainly struck it. My order to the guns was to make a 
zone of fire in front of the target so perfect that noth- 
ing could get through without being struck. They cer- 
tainly did this! At the end of thirty seconds the sig- 
nal " Cease firing " was given, the Kentucky returned 
to her anchorage, and the men were given their ham- 
mocks; but no one turned in. The desire to see what 
they had done to the target was so great that they 
stood about in the drizzling rain until it was towed 
alongside, where they could have a good look at it 
under the rays of the search light. A brief inspection 
showed that six five-inch shells had passed completely 

215 



An Admiral's Log 

through the boat, any one of which would have put a 
torpedo boat out of business. 

The test had been most practical and thorough, and 
gave great confidence to the gunners and little comfort 
to the champions of the torpedo. It showed to me 
clearly that a battleship, properly drilled, whose gun- 
ners could shoot fast and straight, was in little danger 
from an attack of this character. 

About this time the French were building a num- 
ber of submarines, and the advocates of this new 
weapon were claiming all sorts of things for it. They 
claimed at first that they could destroy a whole fleet 
every night, if anybody would supply the fleet ! When 
it became evident that they could not find the ships after 
dark, they claimed that they could do the same trick by 
daylight, without danger to the submarine, as they 
could come to the surface (the periscope had not then 
been adopted), locate the ship, and again disappear in 
thirty seconds. This was too short a time, however, for 
a ship to use her guns. 

To see what was practical in this purely theoretical 
claim, I determined to have a thorough test. For this 
purpose I ordered a diving target made — one that could 
be made to behave much like a submarine boat. The 
officer in command of the naval station at Cavite, Cap- 
tain Couden, was a very clever mechanic, and he pro- 
duced a target which was both amusing and serviceable. 
A float carried the exact counterpart of the conning 
tower of a submarine. The lines by which it was to 
be towed were so arranged that by slacking one of them 
the float would dive and remain under water until this 
line was again hauled on and tautened, when it would 

216 



Coast Survey- 
quickly come to the surface. After there had been 
plenty of practice with this device to ensure its proper 
working, it was towed at the Kentucky and fired at for 
twenty seconds with the six-pounder guns of one broad- 
side. At the third shot splinters flew into the air, and 
the target, when brought alongside, was found to be 
practically destroyed, the whole part representing the 
conning tower being shot away. Since that time great 
improvements have been made, and submarines have 
taken their place as a recognised weapon in warfare. 
They will certainly make timid commanders very mis- 
erable in time of war; but that they will be a serious 
threat to a fleet at sea I do not for a moment concede. 
They may, like the dreaded banana peel, occasionally 
hurt something by accident, but that will be all. 

Conditions were such at the time of which I am 
writing that the army operating in the southern islands 
against the Moros was constantly asking for the assist- 
ance of the navy. We were willing, even anxious, to 
do all in our power to help our brother officers of the 
army in the thankless job they had on hand, but one 
thing stood seriously in the way of effective co-opera- 
tion — our charts were old, in most cases so inaccurate 
as to endanger vessels using them. Only by a thorough 
and systematic survey could this be remedied. I had 
the officers and men for the work, the necessar}'^ instru- 
ments, and gunboats which were fine vessels for the 
purpose. Among the officers available was Commander 
Hughes, who had done valuable work for the coast sur- 
vey at home, and was in every way fitted for the job I 
had in mind. Six gunboats were detailed for the pur- 
pose and ordered to report to him for duty. In a very 

217 



An Admiral's Log 

short time he had everything in readiness, and the ex- 
pedition sailed. I had selected the water in which we 
were likely to be called upon to operate as the first to be 
surveyed. Much of it was in the vicinity of Mindanao 
and Jolo, where the natives were turbulent and likely 
to give trouble. In order to avoid as far as possible 
any difficulty with these people, the commanding offi- 
cers of the surveying vessels were directed to visit the 
Datos, or chiefs, before landing men to erect signals, 
and to explain to them fully what we were going to do : 
that these surveys were necessary to ensure the safety 
of the naval vessels that had to communicate with 
them, and that they would, in the end, increase their 
trade and commerce. 

Everything went well with my surveying expedition 
until Commander Hughes, in the Annapolis, struck an 
uncharted reef and remained there for ten days before 
we could get him off. This accident showed clearly 
the necessity for the work, and I ordered it pressed with 
vigour. The captain of one of the very small gunboats 
— she carried only fifty men all told — communicated 
with a chief in the vicinity of Jolo, explained what he 
wanted, and was granted permission to erect his sig- 
nals. This was done with great labour, as all material 
had to be carried on shore in small boats and then 
taken on the shoulders of the men through the tropical 
jungle to the site selected. These sights were always 
on high, prominent points, and to reach them in the 
broiling sun was not easy. The next morning two of 
the signals had been torn down, and a midshipman with 
a party of men was sent on shore to see what the 
trouble was. When the party had been gone some 

218 



Trouble with Moros 

hours the commanding officer went himself with an 
armed boat's crew to look after them. He found them 
surrounded by two or three hundred Moros, who were 
preparing to cut them up with bolos. A Gatling gun 
soon settled the difficulty, and the chief replaced the sig- 
nals. Both he and his followers were warned that 
those signals were the property of the United States, 
and that if they were molested again somebody would 
get hurt. 

This expedition was undertaken with the approval 
of Governor Taft, who plainly saw the necessity for it. 
My surprise can be imagined when I was accused by 
the press of starting a war with the Moros! In reply 
I stated what I had done, and added that if this was to 
produce a war, I could see no better cause for one. If 
an officer of the navy could not survey waters belonging 
to the United States in order to secure safe navigation 
for his ships, I thought the sooner we whipped those 
holding that view the better. The work went on with- 
out serious trouble, though I believe the Moros did 
make it an excuse for killing some of our men, for 
which act they were severely punished. 

The survey was only partially completed when or- 
ders came from Washington to stop it; not that the 
Navy Department objected to the survey, but because 
they wished the vessels kept together for fleet work. 
The official letter I received on the subject was a severe 
condemnation of my course; and it ordered fleet drills 
for all the vessels. Later, when they understood how 
impossible this was, what an absolute waste of time, 
they relented somewhat, and directed me to use my dis- 
cretion in such matters, which was just what I had 

219 



An Admiral's Log 

done, and all I had done, in this instance. Swivel 
chairs sometimes have the effect of warping the judg- 
ment of those that occupy them. 

One very curious and interesting thing resulted 
from this survey. The officer sent to work among the 
Tawi-Tawi Islands, the most southern of the group, 
not knowing the exact boundary of our possessions, 
obtained from the army officer in command a chart 
showing just where this boundary line ran. As the 
work progressed he found a number of small islands, 
not belonging to us or to anybody else — a sort of no- 
man's land, as it were. They were between our line 
and the coast of Borneo — excellent places for pirates 
to assemble, or from which persons so disposed could 
sell arms to our peace-loving " little brown brothers " 
in that part of the world. When this was reported to 
me, I at once applied to General George W. Davis, 
U. S. A., then in command of the Military Depart- 
ment of the Philippines, for his opinion. He was, by 
all odds, the best-posted man in all the islands as to 
our rights under Spanish treaties, and his able admin- 
istration of his department gave a weight to his opinion 
which would be regarded in Washington. He agreed 
with me entirely that we owned every island outside 
the three-mile limit from the coast of Borneo, and I 
embodied this opinion in my report to Washington. 
The President finally ordered that the line be drawn as 
suggested, which was done, and the chart, so marked, 
supplied to all who were interested. Later I sent a 
gunboat and had our flag hoisted on all the islands in 
the disputed belt. The poor inhabitants were glad to 
know at last to whom they really belonged. 

220 



Distrust of the Filipinos 

In January of this year Rear-Admiral Cooper, an 
officer of recognised ability, great energy, and excep- 
tional executive qualities, was ordered to command the 
southern division. When he came I received the 
warm support I had expected of him, and our great 
success at target practice and the general efficiency of 
the fleet was due in great measure to his loyal support. 
The Navy Department had ordered two more battle- 
ships to the station, and one of them, the Wisconsin, 
was assigned as his flagship when he later became com- 
mander of the northern division. 

It was curious, at this early day, to observe the 
feeling of distrust which the Filipinos entertained for 
us. It afterwards grew into positive hatred, until to- 
day many of them do not hesitate to say they would 
be glad to have the Spaniards back in our stead. It 
cannot be pleasant or conducive to friendly feeling to 
be constantly compared with others, always to our dis- 
advantage; and this was what these people had to put 
up with all the time. We did not make the comparison ; 
they did themselves, sometimes, I suppose, uncon- 
sciously. The first thing they saw in the morning, 
when they looked out into the street, was a company or 
a file of American soldiers, fine, stalwart fellows, 
swinging along with an air that made their own men 
look small and insignificant. Then came, perhaps, a 
six-mule American army wagon, the driver a negro, tall 
and muscular, capable of taking one of their own carts 
— horse, driver, and all — on his shoulders and walking 
off with it; then probably a fine American carriage 
would come dashing by, drawn by large, spirited 
horses, with the well-dressed wife of some officer or 

221 



An Admiral's Log 

official reclining in it, and this vehicle was uncon- 
sciously compared with their own wretched vehicles 
and animals. Everything belonging to the newcomers 
was larger and finer and better than what they had, and, 
above all, they were a dependent race! How could any- 
thing but ill-feeling and jealousy come from such a 
condition ? 

A man of position in Manila once said to me that 
his people disliked the Americans more than they had 
the Spaniards. As he had been so frank with me, I 
asked him if he would not tell me why this was so, and 
he did. He explained that he had long been a merchant 
in Manila, and was still in business; that in Spanish 
days when a shipment of goods came he could, by pay- 
ing a small amount to some customs officer, get his 
goods entered, while his competitors had to pay the 
full amount of duty. Now, he said, this was changed, 
and he had to pay his duty as others did, which deprived 
him of the advantage he had enjoyed. I indicated in a 
few words what I thought of his reasoning, whereupon 
he went further. He claimed that we employed more 
officials than the Spaniards had, paid them higher sal- 
aries, and thus increased the tax rate. I thought it 
time to say something for our side, and asked him if he 
did not know that we had provided a fine water supply 
for the city, thus preventing the awful scourge of chol- 
era, which had killed so many people. He admitted 
that we had, but claimed that his people did not fear 
the cholera, and if we did not want to get it, all we had 
to do was to stay away; that the former system of 
water supply suited them. I asked him if he would not 
admit that we had paved and cleaned the city, cut 

222 



Dislike of Americans 

through the old walls, and let in air and light, thus 
improving the sanitary conditions. He admitted that 
we had done these things, but not with the consent of 
the people, who were satisfied with things as they stood, 
and did not want any of our new sanitary methods and 
improvements. One could not argue with such a fool. 
He, no doubt, represented a large class who were in a 
position to influence the feelings of the people. Educa- 
tion will in time remedy all this. If it does not, bullets 
and bayonets, I know, will. 



CHAPTER XIX 

THE SOUTHERN ISLANDS OF THE PHILIPPINES 

The change from military to civil government had 
been made whh very little friction, owing to the judg- 
ment and ability of Mr. Taft, the civil governor. In 
other hands than his the transfer might have been diffi- 
cult and vexatious. It was only natural that the offi- 
cers of the military branch should feel that it would 
have been better policy to let them govern, at least for a 
time, the people they had lately fought to a standstill. 
This feeling still prevails, and is shared by many out- 
side the military service. 

The newly appointed civil government seemed to 
feel that it should treat the military element with all 
the severity it would stand. This was particularly the 
case in the punishment of soldiers who committed 
offences. In some cases the judges who awarded pun- 
ishment were men who had served under Aguinaldo in 
the recent revolution. The new collector of customs 
was a veritable " new broom," and swept so clean that 
he imposed and collected duties from officers of the 
army for their swords and uniforms, unless they actu- 
ally wore them at the time of landing. One can easily 
imagine the feeling thus produced among men who 
were to defend this government with the very swords 
on which they were paying duty. They could, and did, 

224 



Annoyances from Customs People 

stand the tropical sun, the torrents of rain, and other 
hardships without a word of complaint, but they swore 
like troopers over the duty on their swords ! And who 
can blame them? 

We were fortunate in the navy that we did not come 
in contact generally with these customs people. We 
had our own station where our vessels remained, and, 
a we did not have to land outside our own jurisdiction, 
we were not subjected to the same annoyances as our 
brother officers of the army. One attempt was made 
by the collector to regulate the affairs of people on a 
naval transport, but he was not encouraged by the 
result, and afterwards gave us no trouble. I told him 
plainly that no vessel in commission under my com- 
mand could be searched or hindered in her movements 
except by my orders or the orders of some superior; 
that I had only two superiors — the President and the 
Secretary of the Navy — and that he must show me or- 
ders from one or the other before he could do anything 
to one of the ships of the fleet. If any attempt was .made 
to land anything contrary to law, he could seize the 
articles so landed, and I would see to it that the offend- 
ers were severely punished. But the idea of an insular 
official of the customs branch claiming the right to 
place a guard on a United States transport in the naval 
service, commanded by a naval officer, made me a bit 
hot. It was certainly the tail wagging the dog. 

The energy of this newly created Customs Depart- 
ment of the Philippine civil government cost the Navy 
Department quite a sum of money; and of one instance 
I had personal knowledge. During the time of military 
government a contract had been made by the Navy 

2.2'k 



An Admiral's LOg 

Department for the construction of a coaling plant at 
Sangley Point, Cavite. This contract contained a pro- 
vision, by consent of the War Department, that the con- 
tractor should have the right to bring in, free of duty, 
in the vessels carrying the material for the station, food 
for his employees. Before the plant was half completed 
the form of government was changed from military to 
civil, and the new collector of customs began to sweep 
with his new broom. In the absence of the commander- 
in-chief, my predecessor, a vessel arrived for the con- 
tractor. A customs guard was placed on board, who 
would not permit anything to be landed or used until 
duty was paid. 

When I arrived at Cavite the contractor reported 
the case to me, stating that he was well satisfied with 
the situation, as it permitted him to make an extra 
charge for the work, because the government had vio- 
lated its contract. After reading the contract carefully, 
I appealed to the civil authorities, stating the conditions 
that were being violated. At best it was only taking 
money out of one pocket and putting it in another. 
The civil authorities sustained the collector in his posi- 
tion, and the work stopped for several months until my 
report could reach Washington, when, after a consulta- 
tion with the War Department, the necessary orders 
were issued, and the work again progressed. That 
changing the form of government of these islands 
could possibly justify the breaking of a contract by one 
of the parties to it, and that party the government itself, 
seemed to me an absurd proposition. However, the 
Navy Department paid well over a hundred thousand 
dollars to find it out. 

226 



The Philippine Mango 

If the collector of customs had devised some plan 
to prevent the building of this coaling plant at Sangley 
Point, he would have saved the United States a large 
sum and rendered a great service to the navy. As it 
stands novi^, it represents as foolish a waste of public 
money as one can imagine. The water about this plant 
is so shoal that nothing but small gunboats can ap- 
proach nearer than a mile and a half, and in case of war 
it is open to the fire of any vessel wishing to destroy it. 
Colliers have to land half their cargoes before they can 
get to it, and all coal for vessels must be taken off in 
lighters. In other words, the coal must all be handled 
twice. 

With all our vexations at Manila, however, there 
was one thing, and only one, I believe, that met with 
universal approbation. All hands, military and civil, 
agreed on the fine properties of the Philippine mango! 
This excellent fruit ripened while we were there, and 
we all agreed that for a breakfast dish it was the best 
yet found. Peaches are good, Rocky Ford melons deli- 
cious, but they don't compare with a fine, ripe, golden- 
coloured mango. The natives try to force them into 
the market by firing the trees, and thus prematurely 
ripening the fruit — a process, of course, which does not 
produce good results. You only get the genuine article 
when it is allowed to ripen naturally. 

The projected manceuvres, target practice, etc., 
having been completed and full reports made to the 
Navy Department, I transferred my flag temporarily to 
the naval transport Zafiro and, with my staff, started on 
a trip through the southern islands of the Philippine 
group, that I might know from personal observation 

227 



An Admiral's Log 

the exact conditions. The Kentucky was ordered to 
proceed to Labuan, Borneo, where I was to rejoin her. 
We sailed from Manila on the 8th of February, and 
touched at the following points, all of which were garri- 
soned by small bodies of United States soldiers or 
marines : Catbalogan, Tacloban, Cebu, Zamboanga, 
Isabela, Malabang, Polloc, Cottabato, Jolo, Siassi, Bon- 
gao Island, and Tumindao Island. Then we crossed 
over to Borneo. At most of these points the soldiers 
were constantly employed guarding those who wished 
to conduct legitimate business against the attacks of 
the ladrones, or robbers, who seemed to infest the whole 
country. 

At Zamboanga an old friend, General S. S. Sum- 
ner, U. S. A., commanding the Department of Minda- 
nao, joined me with his aide. Captain Morrow, U. S. A. 
They remained with the party until we reached Jolo, 
showing us the various army posts on the route. 

At Malabang we transferred to a small gunboat, in 
which we crossed the bar at the mouth of the Rio 
Grande and prepared for a trip to Camp Vickars, on 
Lake Linao, where our army held its advanced post 
facing the fortified lines of the Moros. The Rio 
Grande flows through a beautiful, fertile valley, in ap- 
pearance not unlike the valley of the Mississippi, capa- 
ble of producing enormous quantities of sugar-cane and 
other products if reliable labour could be secured. On 
the way up the river, in which the current was very 
strong, the crocodiles floated lazily about, like great 
tree trunks, warning us that a fall into the muddy 
stream would be fatal. Families of monkeys played 
about the banks, old gray-haired grandfathers and 

228 



At Malabang 

grandmothers, with their descendants, who grinned and 
chattered at us as we passed. They were careful to 
keep far enough from the water to avoid the tails of the 
crocodiles; if they ventured too near, one stroke of the 
long, strong tail of the reptile was enough to secure his 
meal of monkey meat. Many of the native children, I 
was told, lost their lives in this way. It was surprising 
to see how far out over the bank a crocodile could 
strike, and always with fatal results. 

The army post at Malabang was beautifully located, 
near one of the finest springs I have ever seen. Shacks 
had been erected for the officers and their families, and 
for the families of those officers who were serving at 
the front. No women or children were permitted to go 
beyond Malabang; and as cholera was prevalent in all 
the advanced camps, the anxiety of those left behind 
was painful to see. But the wives stood up to their 
work as American women always do, with smiling 
faces, and did what was possible to help their hus- 
bands, who might at any moment be brought in on 
stretchers, wounded by Moro bolos, or dead of the chol- 
era. I have always been proud of my countrymen — 
never more so than when I saw the sacrifices they were 
making in this God-forsaken tropical country. 

General Sumner had a four-mule ambulance in 
readiness for our trip to Camp Vickars, and, with a 
strong cavalry escort, we started in the cool of the 
morning — cool only by comparison, for as I sat with 
an army rifle across my lap ready for use I was sure I 
had never encountered more stifling heat. The road 
we followed was a fine one — a monument to the soldiers 
who had cut and made it through the tropical jungle, 
16 229 



An Admiral's Log 

where at times it required all day for two men to cut 
down one of the hard-wood trees. To give the men 
some chance to defend themselves against a rush of the 
savage Moros, with their heavy bolos, the road had been 
cut two hundred feet wide. Up and up we climbed, 
always in a cloud of dust, our keen escort always on 
the alert and our guns ready for instant use, while 
the monkeys scampered about grinning and chattering 
at us, until we reached an elevation of about two 
thousand feet, when the jungle grew perceptibly 
thinner and at four thousand feet we found our- 
selves in what looked like a farming section of Penn- 
sylvania. 

Still following the military road, we came to a 
camp of soldiers — two companies of infantry, holding 
a strategic point where some so-called friendly Moros 
were quiet for the time. We rested in this camp for 
half an hour, had a drink and a sandwich with the offi- 
cers, and then pressed on to Camp Vickars, where we 
arrived early in the afternoon, dust-covered and almost 
melted with the heat. When we had cooled off a bit 
and got rid of the dirt, we had a look at the camp and 
its surroundings. 

Fort Vickars, after which the camp was named, was 
near by. It was here that Dr. Vickars was killed, a 
year before, and his name was given to the fort. 
When the attack was made, the infantry grew impa- 
tient, feeling that they could carry the work without 
waiting for the artillery to shell it. A charge was 
ordered, and it was only when a number of men had 
fallen in and been impaled that a wide ditch was dis- 
covered running around the fort, hidden somewhat by 

230 



At Fort Vickars 

brush and grass, and filled with sharpened bamboos. A 
number of officers and men were killed before the order 
was given to fall back a short distance and bivouac for 
the night. In the early morning five or six cavalry 
soldiers were standing in a group about one hundred 
and fifty yards from the fort, smoking their pipes, when 
a Moro was seen to pass the gate. He was a tall, fine- 
looking, muscular black, and carried a kriss (Malay 
sword) in his hand. He ran straight for the group of 
cavalrymen, and they began firing with their carbines. 
He finally reached them, and had cut one of them 
severely, when he was struck on the head with a 
clubbed gun and killed. He had five bullets through 
his lungs and the upper part of his body, and yet was 
able to close in and fight. This instance shows the 
wonderful vitality of these savages. The sword he car- 
ried was given to me before I left the camp, and is now 
in my Washington home. 

Looking across Lake Linao, which, four thousand 
feet above sea level, is as beautiful as any lake in 
Switzerland, I could distinctly see the Moros on the 
other shore working like beavers on the forts they were 
erecting to prevent the further advance of our army. 
How I did wish for a couple of six-inch guns and per- 
mission to use them! Of course the army could have 
run over these forts and captured them any day with 
the loss of a very few men, but they were not permitted 
to do it — they must fight only when actually attacked. 
After waiting in the hot sun, fighting the cholera a long 
time, the expected attack came. The Moros had com- 
pleted their defences, and the army had the satisfaction 
of marching around the lake, knocking down the forts, 

231 



An Admiral's Log 

and sending a good many Moros to their last account — 
making good Moros of them, so to speak. 

Captain Pershing, of the cavalry, was in command 
at Fort Vickars, and I can't imagine a man better fitted 
for the post. Young, active, and as tough as leather, 
he spoke the Moro tongue, and impressed all w^ho saw 
him most favourably. He certainly won the stars that 
afterwards came to him. If they could have been given 
to him without the seeming injustice to those over 
whom he was jumped, it might have been better. That, 
however, is a question for the lawmakers. The com- 
mand at Fort Vickars consisted of about three thousand 
officers and men — artillery, cavalry, and infantry ; and a 
finer lot of men never served under any flag. Captain 
Pershing had them formed for review, and, in company 
with General Sumner, I walked down the line, looked 
each man squarely in the eyes, and formed my estimate 
of them. There was not a mean-looking man in the 
command. They were brown, sunburned, honest, young 
Americans, tough as nails, ready to give their lives for 
their country. Only three thousand of them were 
facing the thirty thousand savage Moros, convinced 
that they could whip them, and ready to do it when 
the order came. As sunset approached I stood and 
watched the men marching to the outposts, some half 
mile from camp, where they were to spend the night 
guarding those who slept, and I wondered how many 
of them would be dead before sunrise of to-morrow. 
Only a few days before our arrival an outpost had been 
cut up, all the men — three or four — killed, and their 
guns secured. Firearms were what the Moros wanted. 
If one carried none, he could go among them with com- 

232 



The Moro Problem 

parative safety, even though he carried a considerable 
sum of money ; but any one carrying a gun they would 
murder on sight for the sake of getting the gun, 

A tent had been pitched for me on the edge of the 
camp, near the officers' tents, and here I passed a most 
comfortable night. After dining with the officers, I 
retired at about midnight. Captain Pershing had as- 
signed me as my orderly a fine soldier, a sergeant of 
infantry, who took pity on my want of knowledge 
about camping and showed me how to dispose my blan- 
kets to protect me from the cold. This became quite 
marked in the middle of the night on account of the 
altitude, though we were only three degrees north of 
the equator. I had noticed several bullet holes through 
the side of the tent, and asked my orderly what they 
were. 

** Don't mind them, sir. The Moros shoot at the 
tents at night, sir ; but they won't hit you, sir ! " 

While I was trying to acquire the confidence ex- 
pressed by my orderly I must have fallen asleep, for 
the next thing I knew it was daylight and the bugles 
were sounding the reveille. 

After a delightful visit with our army friends, we 
returned to the Zafiro to continue our cruise. I could 
not help thinking — I have since had no reason to 
change my mind — that the Moro' problem is much 
harder to solve than the race question in our southern 
states. Dr. Booker T. Washington has indicated a 
solution of the negro question ; but no one, as far as I 
know, has suggested any method by which we can make 
anything out of a Moro unless he is killed, and then he 
is of no value. Of course we must rescue these people 

233 



An Admiral's Log 

from their present state, and no doubt we shall, but 
the means by which it is to be done are as yet 
unknown. 

Our return to Malabangf was uneventful. We sat 
with guns ready if the Moros came, sweltering in the 
great heat, breathing in the dust with which the air 
was charged. As we crossed the bar to join the 
Zafiro, we passed a large tramp steamer chartered by 
the government to convey to the United States the 
bodies of our soldiers who had been killed or had died 
in the islands. It was certainly a mournful sight. On 
the sandy beach was a huge pile of caskets, into which 
the remains were being transferred, while others were 
being hoisted on board. 

The Spaniards during their occupation of the Phil- 
ippines had maintained two small naval stations among 
the southern islands for the repair of their gunboats, 
which were constantly engaged in warfare against the 
Moros and other tribes. One was at Isabel de Basilan, 
the other at Polloc. The first of these was in charge of 
a guard of fifty marines, who did all that was possible 
to keep it in good order, but as there was no money 
for the purpose it had gradually run down, and was in 
woeful condition when I inspected it. Most of the 
buildings were tumbling down or unsafe for quarters, 
and officers and men were under canvas. All the ma- 
chine shops had been gutted or their contents destroyed, 
so that it was impossible to make the smallest repairs 
with what was left. It was desirable to have a repair 
station for our small vessels somewhere among the 
islands, rather than to send them all the way back 
to Cavite for such work, but withoui funds this 

234 



Vitality of the Moro 

was impossible. A full report was sent to Wash- 
ington, and that was the end of it. I never heard of it 
again, 

Polloc I found in better condition, but far from 
what I had hoped for. There was a small marine rail- 
way which could be used and several machine shops 
with good tools, but no boiler or other means by which 
they could be used. Afterwards I found an old boiler 
at Cavite, sent it to Polloc, had it installed, and some 
good work was done at the station. 

An instance which shows the wonderful vitality of 
the Moro occurred at Polloc. A band of cattle thieves 
had located themselves twenty or thirty miles from the 
station, and were causing great excitement among the 
people. When the proper time came, the marines were 
sent after them, surrounded them, and brought the 
whole gang into Polloc. The leader, a short, wiry, 
black desperado, about five feet two inches tall, was 
confined in the marine guard-house to await trial. Some 
one carelessly left a bolo where the Moro could get his 
hands on it, and, watching his opportunity, he seized it 
and attacked the guard. The marine sentry opened fire 
at once as the man came toward him, and his first shot 
struck him on the chin and smashed his jawbone on 
one side. As he continued to advance, the sentry fired 
a second shot, which went straight through his lungs 
and out at his back. Then the desperado turned and 
started to run, when he was brought to earth by the 
third shot, which struck at the base of the skull and 
passed out over the right eye. Every one supposed 
that he was a " good " Moro at last, but the doctors 
found life in him, patched him up, and treated him in 

235 



An Admiral's Log 

the hospital. Just three weeks after the shooting I had 
him taken out of the guard-house, where he was con- 
fined in irons, to have him photographed. He thought 
I was going to hang him, and he trembled so violently 
that it was difficult to get a good picture of him. His 
face was a bit out of shape on one side, a small blue 
spot over his eye showed where shot No. 3 had come 
out, and two more such spots, one on his chest and the 
other between the shoulder blades, showed the course 
of shot No. 2. Apparently no damage had been done 
the rascal, as he seemed active and hearty. I was 
anxious, of course, to try him by court-martial, so that 
he might have some real punishment, but my instruc- 
tions were positive and prevented me from doing so. 
He was turned over to the civil authorities, who tried 
him, and, I afterwards learned, gave him a couple of 
years in jail! Any one of the three shots he received 
would have disabled a white man, and two of them 
would probably have proved fatal. 

After completing the inspection of Polloc, I ran 
down to visit J0I6, in the Sulu group, where we had a 
large garrison, and also to land General Sumner and 
his aide. Here, as the Moros were disposed to make 
trouble on the least provocation, the troops had to be 
confined pretty closely to the barracks. The Sultan of 
Sulu claimed the whole country as his, and was not dis- 
posed to acknowledge the authority of the United 
States, or any one else, for that matter. He was defi- 
ant, quarrelsome, and ready to fight on the least provo- 
cation. He had often beaten the Spanish soldiers sent 
against him, and he was confident he could do the same 
to the Americans whenever they would give him the 

236 



Tawi-Tawi Islands 

chance. When the time finally came he discovered his 
mistake. 

One of the playful habits of these particular sav- 
ages was that of " running amuck," A v^^arrior would 
become " huramentado," as they called it — crazy for 
blood. He would charge into a crowd, slashing right 
and left with his long knife, and would continue this 
amusement until some one either killed him or held him 
until he was bound. Frequently men, women, and even 
children were killed in this way. Sometimes one of 
these crazy fanatics would run amuck among our sol- 
diers, but he generally selected those who were not 
armed, though on one occasion, I was told, a Sulu 
Moro, " huramentado," actually charged into the midst 
of a company of infantry and cut down several men 
before he was persuaded to be good. 

Cholera was raging all about Jolo at the time of 
my visit, which, added to the peculiar characteristics 
of the natives, made it anything but a pleasant place to 
live in! Yet, with it all, the officers and their wives 
wore pleasant faces, and did their duty without a whim- 
per. I shall always recall with pleasure the charming 
dinner I enjoyed at the house of Colonel Wallace, of 
the cavalry, who commanded the post. It was prepared 
by his wife, and came almost entirely from tins, but it 
was the best dinner I had in the Philippines. 

From Jolo we ran down through the Tawi-Tawi 
group, stopping at Siassi and Bungao. The former, a 
two-company post, was beautifully located in a grove 
of ihlang ihlang trees, the perfume from the flowers of 
which we could perceive several miles at sea. Two 
married officers were at this station, their splendid 

^Z7 



An Admiral's Log 

wives with them, calmly facing the dangers of savages 
and cHmate. Bungao was the southern post of all, 
and was important because it had been the port for 
smugglers to operate from, and also because of its 
proximity to the coast of Borneo. The natives, at 
least the few of them I saw, were very black, and 
seemed less intelligent than those farther north. They 
lived on fish or fruit, which grew in great profusion 
everywhere, and on yams, which they cultivated in small 
quantities. As a rule, they were peaceful, and carried 
on trade with the neighbouring islands and Borneo, ex- 
changing their grass mats for tobacco, tea, and rum. 
In two days I saw all I wanted of this one of our trop- 
ical possessions, and I put to sea and ran over to the 
coast of British North Borneo. 



CHAPTER XX 

FROM SINGAPORE TO TIENTSIN 

We arrived at Sandaken the following day, ex- 
changed salutes with the fort, called on the governor, 
were most cordially received by him, and I dined with 
him that evening. Many of the small islands lying off 
the coast had belonged to Borneo — at least they had 
been supposed to under the treaty of Paris, by which 
the Philippines had come into our possession. Now 
that we had them all, the officials of Borneo were 
watching with great interest to see the results of our 
efforts at colonisation, so different in every respect from 
their own. They were old at the business, and we were 
absolutely new. It was plain to me, during the dinner, 
that our methods did not meet the entire approval of 
the English officials, and I was deeply interested in 
their comments. Many of the things they foresaw 
came to pass afterwards, which is not to be wondered 
at when one considers the experience that they had had 
with exactly the same kind of people we were experi- 
menting with. 

North Borneo furnished a great quantity of fine 
building lumber, used all over the East except by us. 
Ours came from Oregon, and was very expensive. One 
object of my visit to Sandaken was to look into this 
lumber question. We had in the Philippines vast for- 

239 



An Admiral's Log 

ests of hard woods of various kinds, but none that we 
could use for building- purposes, and no soft wood that 
the white ants would not destroy in a year. If the 
hard wood could be converted into lumber and brought 
into market, it would answer the purpose admirably, 
although it did seem extravagant to build houses of 
ebony. But, beautiful as all these hard woods were, 
they were destined to remain on the stump for a long 
time. It required two things to move them, capital and 
labour. Capital could be had, for large profits were 
assured; but the labour was simply unattainable. The 
Philippines could not furnish it, and those who could, 
the Chinese, were not permitted to enter. All the tim- 
ber about the seashore, or near it, had been used ; that 
along the rivers, of which there was an endless supply, 
was difficult to market. It was too heavy to float when 
cut, and had to be rafted out on bamboo rafts. Some 
day it will become valuable, when, like coal mining 
and other industries, labour can be found to work it. 

We had hopes, at the time of which I am writing, 
that Congress would authorise a fine naval base at 
Olongapo, in Subig Bay, and I wanted to be in posi- 
tion to get good lumber at reasonable prices for the con- 
struction work. All my work was for nothing, how- 
ever, as we are as far from a naval base in the East as 
we were then. 

Several companies at Sandaken, operating sawmills, 
were prepared to furnish lumber of any kind and qual- 
ity, but, owing to the fact that they were compelled to 
raft and tow their logs to the mills, their prices were 
high. At Jesselton, on the west coast of Borneo, a 
reliable company was prepared to furnish what we 

240 



In British North Borneo 

wanted at most reasonable rates, owing to the fact that 
they ran a road into the jungle, felled the trees, and, 
with a portable sawmill, converted them into lumber, 
which they hauled back over the road to a shipping 
point. As the trees were exhausted the road was ex- 
tended back into the jungle, thus securing an ample 
supply. This company was prepared to make a contract 
with us to supply lumber and piling guaranteed to 
withstand the attacks of white ants, teredo, and other 
wood-destroying insects so troublesome and destructive 
in the tropics. A long report, covering all these facts, 
was sent to the Navy Department, where it has, no 
doubt, quietly rested in some dusty pigeonhole ever 
since. 

Leaving Sandaken in the Zafiro, we made our way 
through a network of shoals and reefs to Victoria, 
Labuan, the home of that wonderful man. Rajah 
Brooke, who may be fairly said to have made British 
North Borneo the rich, producing country it is. His 
treatment of the natives and his success with them are 
an example of what a well-equipped white man can do 
with a dependent race of people. I was most courte- 
ously received by all the officers, who gave me any in- 
formation I sought in the most friendly way. After a 
delightful visit of four days, I joined the Kentucky and 
sailed for Singapore, where we arrived during the lat- 
ter part of March. It had been my intention to visit 
Saigon at this time; but, finding it impossible to do so, 
I sent the New Orleans there, with orders to join me 
later at Hong Kong. 

Singapore is to me one of the best places in the 
East for a man-of-war to visit. The climate is very 

241 



An Admiral's Log 

hot, but the nights are always cool. The city has many 
attractions for enlisted men, as well as for officers, and 
the police see that the men are not abused or cheated. 
The health authorities never ask for a bill of health, be- 
cause, having about every disease known themselves, 
they are not afraid of what may be brought them ! 

When the official calls had been made, I accepted 
the invitation of the governor for myself and flag lieu- 
tenant to enjoy the hospitality of Government House 
during our stay in port. The Kentucky was coaling, 
the hotels were crowded, and this invitation assured me 
a most comfortable rest. The governor. Sir Frank A. 
Swettenham, had grown up in the Indian service, and 
at the time of my visit, though still a young man, was 
governor of the Straits Settlements, a most important 
and responsible position. I shall never forget his cour- 
tesy to me during the days I spent under his roof enjoy- 
ing his gracious hospitality. Singapore was noted, 
among other things, for the excellence of its curry, a 
dish of which I am very fond. I have eaten it in all 
parts of the world — curried meat, curried eggs, curried 
fish, and curried vegetables — but one taste of it at Sir 
Frank's table satisfied me that I had never before en- 
joyed the real article. It was so good that I find it 
impossible to describe it. I asked that my cook from 
the Kentucky might see it prepared, and was surprised 
when I learned that it took three native Indians two 
days to get a dish of it ready to serve. I have never 
enjoyed a visit elsewhere as much as I did this one to 
Government House, Singapore, and I left the harbour 
with great regret. 

After leaving Singapore we ran up to Hong Kong, 
242 



A Russian Squadron in Japan 

where we found the Oregon, the New Orleans, and the 
Helena. The plague was raging with such violence 
that I deemed it prudent to remain only a short time. 
The Navy Department was anxious about a coaling sta- 
tion at Amoy, and to give them the information they 
desired I proceeded with the squadron to that port. On 
investigation I found that our vice-consul had leased a 
piece of land from the Chinese owners and proposed to 
make it pay a good return by inducing the Navy De- 
partment to establish on it a coaling station. He was 
doomed to disappointment, however, as the board of 
officers ordered to survey the land and report on its 
fitness for the purpose decided that it was not a desir- 
able place for a coaling plant. The offer of the whole 
harbour for nothing having been declined, it was now 
proposed by some one, probably the vice-consul, that 
we should pay a round sum for a small part of an out- 
of-the-way rocky island! 

After completing the work at Amoy, I stood up the 
coast, exercising constantly at tactical drills, anchored 
in a dense fog for three days off the mouth of the 
Yangtze, and then continued on to Nagasaki, where I 
found a large Russian squadron assembled. Cholera 
was raging, but the Russians did not seem to mind that ; 
they were watching the Japanese making a demonstra- 
tion to show how strong they were on the water. It 
was only a short time before they found out how futile 
their mission had been — that the Japanese actually 
laughed at Russian sea power. There was a young 
Prince on the Russian flagship ; on his staff were intel- 
ligent officers of experience. Why they did not see, as 
the rest of us did, that war was inevitable and almost 

243 



An Admiral's Log 

upon them was more than I could understand. Every 
Russian officer I met made the same grave mistake; 
they all underrated their enemy, and believed that 
Japan was afraid to go to war with them. The prepa- 
rations for war were so evident and so earnest that any 
reasonably intelligent observer should have seen them. 
The crowded condition of the harbour, added to the 
danger from cholera, made our visit a short one, and 
we continued on to Yokohama, where we arrived dur- 
ing the latter part of April. 

It was now time to give shore leave to officers and 
men. Our cruise south had necessarily brought much 
discomfort and hardship, but it never produced com- 
plaint. All saw the necessity for hard work, and they 
knew that when the time came they would be allowed 
every possible chance to enjoy themselves. As many 
officers as could be spared from duty were given ten 
days' leave at a time, which permitted them to travel 
and see something of this most interesting country. 
Parties of enlisted men, in charge of the chaplain or 
some other suitable officer, went to different places for 
periods of four or five days. Some of these parties 
numbered as many as two hundred and fifty or three 
hundred men. Their conduct on such occasions was 
excellent and the impression they made most favour- 
able. The old idea that a bluejacket must get drunk 
and make trouble every time he goes on shore was 
thoroughly discounted. The men went and came just 
as the officers did, and it was rare indeed that it became 
necessary to award punishment for bad conduct on 
shore. When it was necessary it came sharp and quick, 
and the knowledge that it was sure to come just 

244 



A Visit to Kioto 

as certainly as the reward for good conduct would, 
had an excellent influence throughout the fleet. In ad- 
dition, the men preferred to behave themselves well. 
Bringing the ships together produced emulation in this 
respect, as well as in others. 

When opportunity offered I took my leave, and 
with my family and members of my staff visited Kioto, 
the old capital of Japan, stopping over at Nagoya 
long enough to visit the old castle and the potteries, 
which are among the finest in the country. It was at 
Nagoya that the war preparations were most striking. 
Constant drilling and marching of the men, while the 
women, in their places, gathered the crops and tilled 
the soil, indicated clearly what was to come. There 
was no boasting or show about it, only hard work, 
with quiet, determined faces on all sides. At Kioto 
our party secured quarters at a hotel so situated as to 
give us an excellent view of the city. Our beds were 
comfortable, our food quite good enough, and the serv- 
ice all that could be desired. From this comfortable base 
we planned and carried out many delightful expedi- 
tions to various points of interest. 

The city is a veritable storehouse of valuable and 
historic souvenirs of Japanese progress and civilisation. 
The temples are among the oldest and finest in the 
kingdom, the silk manufactures probably the best in the 
world, and the dealers in ceramics well supplied with 
the most valuable articles in their line, for which they 
charged the most exorbitant prices, but were reasonable 
as soon as we showed them that we knew what the 
things were worth. Everything, from a lapdog to a 
Satsuma teacup, was offered for sale and, I must admit, 

17 245 



An Admiral's Log 

purchased by some member of the party before we left. 
Among the most interesting sights in Kioto were the 
looms, where valuable silks, some of them worth a hun- 
dred dollars a yard, were being made. Old-fashioned 
looms, in use for centuries, handled by women, turned 
out fabrics the equal of which cannot be found else- 
where in the world. Gold and silver threads were used in 
some of them, and the completed fabric was so stiff when 
finished that it would stand alone. A beautiful moun- 
tain stream ran through the city which, if properly har- 
nessed, would have produced power enough to run any 
number of mills, but this would have thrown many 
women out of employment. Rather than do this the 
old looms were continued in use. Many of the fabrics 
so made appeared afterwards at the court ceremonies 
in Tokio. Some of them, no doubt, might be seen at 
similar ceremonies in London, Paris, and Washington. 

Upon my return to Yokohama, at the expiration of 
my leave of absence, hard work again stared me in the 
face. All the vessels of the northern division, and as 
many as could be spared from the southern one, had 
been ordered to assemble at Chefoo for target practice 
and fleet manoeuvres. The Kentucky was docked and 
necessary repairs made. All the ships were put in con- 
dition for immediate service, and early in June assem- 
bled at Chefoo. 

The rivalry in the fleet over the coming target prac- 
tice was great, promising excellent results. That all 
the vessels might have a fair chance to win, I suspended 
all drills except those with the guns, and ordered that 
all possible time should be devoted to ping-pong prac- 
tice. While this was in progress I made my contem- 

246 



Off the Taku Bar 

plated visit to Pekin for an audience with her Majesty, 
the Empress Dowager. The Kentucky and the Helena 
anchored off the Taku bar, the latter as close in as the 
depth of water would admit, and a tug was chartered 
to convey the party, consisting of my staff and a few 
selected officers, to the railroad station on the river 
above Taku. The sea was very rough, the tug small 
and almost unseaworthy, and to get on board of her 
was no easy job. We managed it, however, by the use 
of lifeboats, and, wet to the skin, started for the bar, 
where the sea was breaking in a way to promise us a 
good shaking up, if nothing more serious. On the 
bridge with the Chinese pilot seemed the most promis- 
ing place in which to keep dry, and at the same time 
have a chance to swim if she capsized, and there I took 
my place. Our trunks, containing our full-dress uni- 
forms, were put below, where they would be compara- 
tively safe. Before we reached the bar the tug behaved 
so badly, rolling and pitching in a dangerous way, that 
the Chinese captain proposed to put about and run back 
to the ships. This did not promise well to me, so I 
ordered him to run his engines slowly and pay more 
attention to his boat. He was so badly scared that he 
was likely to let her fall off into the trough of the sea 
at any moment, and I knew that would be fatal. Just 
before we reached the bar I sent the tug ahead at full 
speed, and we went through the breaking sea rather 
than over it. For a moment the wretched little boat 
stood on end, and then, with one jump, landed on the 
inside of the bar, where the water was smooth. We 
were safe, but a wetter or more bedraggled lot of offi- 
cers I never saw. 

247 



An Admiral's Log 

At the railroad station we found fairly comfortable 
accommodations in a train on the new road to Tientsin, 
in charge of Chinese officials. When we had run a 
short distance through the salt fields, where most of the 
salt used in the East is dried out from sea water and 
prepared for the market, a dust storm shut down on 
us, and for the rest of the distance we saw little except 
the black pall of dust that surrounded the train, pene- 
trating our clothing, our eyes, and our throats. In 
some cases it even penetrated our tempers! The road 
ran through the country over which the foreign troops 
marched to the relief of Pekin during the Boxer 
troubles, and it was full of interest for that reason, as 
well as many others, but we saw little of it. We 
passed many camps of foreign troops which had the ap- 
pearance of permanent occupation, but whenever I 
asked how long they would remain, the officers an- 
swered, "We will leave after the indemnity is paid!" 
How long after they did not specify. In some cases it 
was a few weeks, in others the soldiers are there yet. 

Upon reaching Tientsin we were rattled off to a 
very good hotel — the Astor House Hotel — in vehicles 
that would not be employed in New York or London. 
There was no choice between them and walking. The 
following morning we were joined by the ladies of our 
families, who had come to Taku by mail steamer, had 
been landed in comfort, and had escaped the discom- 
forts of the dust storm. When it was known that we 
were in the city, many foreign officers called to pay 
their respects and to invite us to visit their camps, 
which we did later. I was curio'us to hear from these 
highly decorated and gorgeously uniformed officers 

248 



At Tientsin 

their impressions of the American troops who had 
marched with them to Pekin. All of them had only- 
words of praise for our men, but I only succeeded in 
getting from one of them anything like an opinion in 
detail. This was a German officer of rank, who praised 
particularly the discipline of our cavalry. He said he 
had visited the camp of this regiment after pay day, and 
found many evidences of hard drinking, but there was 
not a trooper among the lot but managed somehow to 
stand on his feet and salute as the group of officers 
passed! He was sure that such would not have been 
the case with other foreign troops in the same condi- 
tion. 

We spent one day in Tientsin to see some of the 
curious features of the historic place. Securing com- 
fortable sedan chairs with trustworthy Chinese bearers, 
we visited the old native city, which had caused so 
much trouble and bloodshed to the troops marching to 
the relief of the legation in Pekin, It will be recalled 
that a high wall surrounded the city, and that it was 
against this that the Ninth United States Infantry was 
sent in a desperate charge after the Japanese had 
blown down the gate. The place was carried by our 
men and the English troops, who throughout the expe- 
dition fraternised with them and joined them in this 
charge. The gallant colonel of the Ninth was killed in 
advance of his men, and a small stone monument now 
marks the spot where he fell. In future this great wall 
will give no trouble, for it was completely blown up 
and removed after the capture of the city and a fine, 
wide boulevard constructed on its site. The Germans, 
who were given control of the place when it surren- 

249 



An Admiral's Log 

dered, saw that the work was thoroughly done, and, 
consequently, we passed entirely around the old Chi- 
nese city on a wide, well-paved street, scowled at by the 
natives, but not molested or threatened. The great 
Chinese gun plant at Tientsin, which had for years 
made all the guns for the army and navy, was a wreck, 
as were also the batteries that had defended it. What 
had not been destroyed by artillery fire had afterwards 
been treated with dynamite, and the destruction was 
complete. Much valuable machinery had been saved 
and sent to the site of a new establishment on the 
Yangtze. The Russians had removed many of the best 
guns from here and the Taku forts, with enormous 
quantities of ammunition, to their newly constructed 
forts at Port Arthur. 

The American troops had all been withdrawn from 
China except a guard of one hundred men of the Ninth 
Infantry who remained at Pekin. About every other 
nation had troops both at Pekin and Tientsin. I no- 
ticed particularly the camps of the Japanese, who had a 
brigade of infantry just outside the old Chinese city of 
Tientsin — fine, sturdy-looking, brown chaps, who were 
ready at a moment's notice for any kind of work they 
might be called on to do. Before the assault on the 
great wall, before mentioned, a party of these men had 
been sent to blow in the main gate. The dynamite 
charge was fixed in place and the fuse lighted, but it 
failed to explode it. One of the men ran forward, fired 
his rifle into the charge, went to pieces with the gate, 
and was buried under its debris. In the German camp 
were several fine regiments of infantry, large, heavy- 
looking men, apparently twice the size of the Japanese, 

250 



German Troops in China 

well uniformed and equipped, and commanded by offi- 
cers who had been thoroughly trained in their busi- 
ness. They were in control of Tientsin, and we saw 
more of them about the streets than of others, as they 
patrolled the foreign settlement and kept order. 

The foreign settlement was in marked contrast to 
the filthy, dilapidated Chinese city. There were many 
beautiful houses, nearly all of which showed by the 
shell marks on their walls how desperate had been the 
attempts of the Chinese batteries to destroy them. Too 
much credit cannot be given to the companies of for- 
eigners, merchants, clerks, etc., who volunteered to 
defend the city, and did defend it until the foreign 
troops arrived and relieved them. Many of them were 
killed and many more so badly wounded that they will 
remain invalids the rest of their lives. 



CHAPTER XXI 

AUDIENCE WITH THE EMPRESS DOWAGER 

From Tientsin we continued to Pekin. No dust 
storm came our way, and we were able to pick out the 
various points of interest as we progressed. The rail- 
road built by the Germans ran through an opening in 
the outer wall of the city, and landed us directly in 
front of and only a few yards from the great east 
gate of the new city. This gate was the one cap- 
tured and held by the American troops. From the 
top of the great wall over it Riley's battery of 
field artillery was firing at the gates of the sacred 
city when that gallant officer lost his life. He was the 
only man of the command who was struck, and no one 
could tell where the bullet came from that killed him. 
Our minister to China met us on our arrival, and was 
good enough to insist on our staying with him in the 
legation, an old Chinese temple, during our visit. 

As we passed through the gate — the wall is sixty 
feet thick — what we saw was most revolting. Lepers 
were lying about, their swollen, suppurating sores ex- 
posed to view, begging of those who passed; others, 
sick with various diseases, were in evidence, and beg- 
gars without number whined at our elbows and begged 
for alms. Dogs by the dozen barked and snarled, ugly, 
mangy curs of all breeds, that looked as if they had 

252 



Visit to Pekin 

never had enough to eat — such dogs as one sometimes 
sees in a fevered dream. It was only a short distance 
to the residence of the minister, where we were made 
comfortable and happy by the courteous hospitality of 
him and his wife. Our quarters in the temple were 
comfortable in many ways. The beds were delightful, 
and we could have enjoyed sleep had it not been for 
three things — dogs, rats, and mosquitoes; the dogs 
barked all night, the mosquitoes bit at all hours, and the 
rats raced over the floors and beds until sleep was out 
of the question. 

A short walk after luncheon showed us how bitter 
the struggle had been to prevent the Boxers from cap- 
turing the legation and surrounding grounds. Bullet 
marks everywhere; in places walls more than a foot 
thick entirely shot away, and others so pitted with bul- 
lets that a finger could not be put on a sound place. 
One might expect to see this condition in a small space 
that had been subjected to a hot fire ; but here it was the 
same for several miles over the whole of the English, 
American, and Japanese legations. Other foreign com- 
pounds were badly scarred, but these were the worst 
because the fighting in and about them was the fiercest. 
Before the siege was raised, all foreigners retreated to 
the English legation, and, of course, the greatest de- 
struction was done there. At the time of my visit 
many of the legations had been rebuilt, most of them 
so constructed as to offer real resistance in case of at- 
tack, with proper quarters for the legation guard. The 
new English legation was almost like a fortress. A 
heavy, loop-holed wall had been built around the entire 
grounds, except in one place, where the old wall was 

253 



An Admirals Log 

left intact. On this was inscribed in large black letters 
" Lest we forget." The new American legation was 
built out in the open, where the mob will have an easy 
time capturing it when the time comes! The barracks 
for the company of the Ninth Infantry, which formed 
the legation guard, were close to the legation, and with- 
out protection of any kind. The people of Pekin had 
had their lesson, surely a very severe one, and foreigners 
were safe there for a long time to come, but history has 
repeated itself so often in China that I think we may 
look for more trouble in the course of time. It would 
have been better, I think, when building our new lega- 
tion, if we had made it strong enough to protect our 
people in case of necessity. 

Close by our legation site was the great city wall, 
where the handful of American marines — there were 
less than one hundred of them — did such splendid serv- 
ice. The breastworks and barricades had been removed 
at the time of my visit, but one could easily trace their 
lines. Standing as I did on the spot, with all the sur- 
roundings in plain sight, it seemed marvellous that 
these men could have resisted the attacks made on them 
by such vastly superior numbers. Yet they did it, and 
by so doing saved the lives of those committed to their 
care, and reflected great honour on their splendid corps. 
At one point the Chinese soldiers worked their way, 
under cover, to the very end of our barricade, within a 
few yards of our men. They were preparing to charge 
the position in flank, when the marines took the offen- 
sive, charged into the Chinese trenches, and with their 
bayonets drove the Boxers more than half a mile. A 
few marines were killed or wounded, but the Chinese 

254 



During the Siege of Pekin 

suffered severely. Their dead were piled in great 
numbers on the wall, where the decaying bodies soon 
became a great menace to the health of our men. This 
handful of marines held their position day after day 
and night after night, until their diminished number 
forced them to retire to the English legation, where all 
foreign residents were assembled, protected by the com- 
bined legation guards. Here they fought heroically 
until the arrival of the relief expedition. 

During the worst days of the siege the English flag 
covered the sick and wounded from all the legations. 
The question of food and medical supplies was a most 
serious one — one that gave grave concern to those in 
charge. Grown people could, and did, stand the strain 
without complaint, but the children soon fell ill, and 
were the source of great anxiety. The wife of the 
English minister had all these children in charge. Her 
hens, of which she had but a small number, laid a few 
eggs every day, and these were carefully preserved for 
the use of the sick children. One day the wife of a 
minister begged to be given a fresh egg, and, suppos- 
ing that it was for some sick child, her request was 
granted. Afterwards it was learned that the egg was 
used for washing the lady's hair ! It is unnecessary to 
name the nationality of the lady — that can be easily 
guessed — but she did not get any more fresh eggs. 

When my arrival had been duly reported to her, the 
Empress Dowager requested, through our minister, a 
copy of the speech I was going to make at the coming 
audience, that it might be translated and duly consid- 
ered. The following day her reply to my speech was 
received, translated, and stowed away. Then the offi- 

255 



An Admiral's Loe 



c> 



cial calls on foreign representatives were made, which 
took the better part of two days, and I was ready for 
the audience which had been arranged for me. 

The imperial court was at the summer palace, ten 
or twelve miles from Pekin, and to this spot we must 
journey in proper green chairs carried on the shoulders 
of native coolies. We should have been much more 
comfortable in some wheeled vehicle drawn by horses, 
certainly would have made the trip in half the time, but 
etiquette required that we go in green chairs, so in them 
we went, I in one, my wife in another, the minister in 
another, and so on until we made quite a procession of 
green chairs. We left our temple in the morning in 
time to arrive at our destination before noon. We were 
escorted by a number of Chinese cavalrymen mounted 
on ponies. Their appearance was grotesque. They 
seemed to take turns in falling; sometimes the pony 
would fall and spill his rider into the road, but more 
frequently the rider would fall off, generally over the 
animal's head. Those in front of us yelled incessantly 
at the people in the streets to get out of our way, 
which they did promptly, or were banged over the head 
with a stick. As we passed in this way through mile 
after mile of the city, I was thoroughly interested by 
what I saw. At times we passed what seemed to be the 
remains of houses after a fire, but there had been no 
fire. A Chinese, wishing a new house, builds one, but 
rarely tears down the old one; he leaves it standing, 
and after a time only the walls remain; the weather 
removes the rest of it. This gives the city, in places, 
the appearance of having been burned over. None of 
the streets were paved, and the dust kicked up by the 

256 



The Looting at Pekin 

mass of people moving about was stifling, while the 
noise of the yelping dogs and the swearing guard fairly 
deafened one. The smells were those usually encoun- 
tered in Chinese cities, and cannot be found elsewhere. 
When the city was captured and occupied by the 
relief expedition it was divided into districts, the troops 
of each nation taking charge of a district to preserve 
order and, if possible, to prevent looting and fires. The 
flag of the nation having charge was displayed at the 
corners of the streets, and small ones tacked on the 
doors of the houses by the people who wished protec- 
tion. In this way any one moving about the city could 
tell at a glance what nation had jurisdiction of the par- 
ticular section he was in. Some of the troops looted 
houses and stores right and left as soon as they were 
in possession, while others were not permitted this lux- 
ury. Among the latter were the American troops, and 
when this became known the people generally tacked 
American flags on their houses, thus claiming protec- 
tion. Evidence of this was still to be seen as we were 
carried through the portion of the city held by our men 
— the flags were still on many of the doors. The pub- 
lished stories of the looting of Pekin by foreign troops 
were grossly exaggerated. The city was undoubtedly 
looted, pretty thoroughly at that, but it was done in 
most cases by Chinese soldiers and the gang of outlaws 
that always seems to be on hand for such occasions. It 
is true that some of the foreigners looted — such is their 
custom with captured cities — but, as a rule, the loot that 
was carried away from Pekin by the relief army was 
bought or taken forcibly from the Chinese who had 
done the looting in the first place. The conduct of 

257 



An Admiral's Log 

some of the foreign troops was brutal and savage, but 
not so bad as represented by the press. 

We passed out through the great gate, captured by 
the Japanese troops in the assault on the city, on our 
way to the summer palace. Here there was still a 
guard of Japanese troops, who preserved the strictest 
order. The wall all about the gate showed the effect of 
the Japanese artillery fire before the infantry regiments 
were sent to scale it. Hundreds of shells had struck it; 
it was fairly honeycombed with shells; but in no case 
that I noticed had they completely penetrated the wall. 

Once out into the open country, the scene changed 
entirely. The level, black-looking land was, or had 
been, carefully cultivated, and the green fields offered 
some relief to our eyes, which were smarting from the 
clouds of dust surrounding us. The road over which 
we passed had been in use two thousand years or more. 
It had been paved with great blocks of stone at one 
time, but these had become somewhat displaced, leaving 
holes filled with fine, pulverized dust, which rose in 
clouds as the coolies tramped through it. Along the 
middle of the road I noticed a ribbon of yellow sand. 
Yellow is the royal Chinese colour, and this ribbon of 
sand was ofiicial notice that the Emperor, or some 
member of the royal family, would pass over the road 
that day, and common people must keep out of the way. 
Notice by yellow sand is always given when any mem- 
ber of the imperial family is to venture into the country. 
As we progressed, the escort of the Empress was seen 
coming our way. We were sidetracked at a safe dis- 
tance, and when they had passed we resumed our 
journey. 

258 



The Empress Dowager of China 

When we arrived, the summer palace seemed 
crowded with officials and eunuchs, but I was afterwards 
told that there were only about two thousand of the 
latter, the usual number to guard the palace. Curious- 
looking, heavy, stalwart men, these eunuchs, with lead- 
ers whose keen, tricky-looking eyes were set too close 
together for my liking. None of them indeed was the 
kind of man I would select for a post of trust, but as 
far as I know they were faithful to her Majesty. The 
fear of a deep well or an opium pill may have been re- 
sponsible for this. I positively distrusted, even dis- 
liked, the whole gang from the moment I first laid eyes 
on them, and I found this was the feeling entertained 
by most of the officers who were with me. 

Everything was in readiness for our reception. As 
soon as we could change into special full-dress uniform 
we were ushered into the royal presence. I had selected 
the officers to accompany me — tall, fine-looking men — 
and when we stood in a row facing her I felt sure the 
Empress Dowager had not often seen a more business- 
like-looking lot of officers. She was seated on her 
throne, beautifully dressed, calm, and dignified. On 
a chair to her left, but not on the throne, sat the 
young Emperor, a young man, who seemed to me 
deficient in mental make-up. In this opinion, how- 
ever, I was not supported by some of those who were 
with me. 

The minister presented me in a few words to her 
Majesty, and, standing at a distance of about twenty 
feet, I repeated the speech I had sent her some days 
before — at least a portion of it. She replied with the 
speech she had sent me, and then an unusual thing hap- 

259 



An Admirals Log 

pened. She said to the minister through her inter- 
preter : 

" Ask the admiral to come near me ; I wish to con- 
verse with him ! " 

This part of the play had not been rehearsed, as it 
was unexpected. For a moment I was just a bit discon- 
certed, but only for a moment. I ascended the two or 
three steps of the throne and approached the wonderful 
woman who sat in front of me. I had no idea just 
how close I ought to go, but I had often talked to the 
wife of our President, and I felt that I could come as 
close to this Chinese lady as I had to her. I stopped 
when I was close enough to put my hand on her, if that 
became desirable. Then I looked into the eyes of this 
woman who ruled over four hundred millions of peo- 
ple, holding their lives and the destiny of hef country 
in the hollow of her hand. Beautiful, appealing brown 
eyes looked back at me out of a face that must at one 
time have been strikingly beautiful. Every line of it 
indicated firmness and strength ; the mouth alone sug- 
gested cruelty, if occasion called for it. A more strik- 
ing face, one to be longer remembered, I have never 
seen. The Manchu head dress she wore was most 
becoming, and added to the effect of the exquisite cos- 
tume in which her Majesty was attired. 

The Empress Dowager spoke deliberately and with 
dignity. The interpreter received her words, bumped 
his head on the floor, raised his eyes, and repeated in 
English what she had said. I replied, another bump of 
the head, and with downcast eyes he conveyed my mes- 
sage to her Majesty. Thus, for about twenty minutes, 
the conversation continued, growing more interesting 

260 




REAR-ADMIRAL ROBLEY D. EVANS. 



Interview with Empress Dowager 

as she stated her side of the Boxer troubles and the 
cruel punishment China had received, as a nation, for 
the doings of a band of outlaws. As the conversation 
progressed, the dark-brown eyes blazed, and I felt them 
looking straight into my brain as well as my heart. If 
I had wanted to do so, I felt that it would be impossible 
for me to attempt to deceive the woman who was watch- 
ing me so earnestly. Officially, she knew no word of 
English, but several times she started to reply before 
my words had been translated, which convinced me that 
she understood well every word I was saying. The 
rapid changes of expression on her face also led me to 
this conclusion. The interview concluded with these 
words from her Majesty: 

" After all my country has suffered, I find she has 
but one friend in the world. That, admiral, is the great 
country you represent ! " 

With these words she clasped her own shapely, deli- 
cate hands together. I bowed and backed out of her 
presence, fully aware that I had enjoyed the privilege 
of seeing the most remarkable woman in the world 
show her real feeling. 

Having disposed of the male portion of the party, 
the Empress Dowager granted an audience to the ladies 
who had accompanied us, was most gracious in conver- 
sation with them, and entertained them at luncheon. In 
the meantime a state luncheon was served for the offi- 
cers, which was attended by many Chinese court officials 
and officers of rank. The only wine served was cham- 
pagne, but the dishes were many and curious. Many of 
them I did not recognise, nor had ever heard of before. 
Sharks' fins, bird's-nest soup, and eggs, very old and 
18 261 



An Admiral's Log 

black, and many preparations of pork, I knew and par- 
took of, but there were many which I tasted without 
knowing what they contained. 

After luncheon, which lasted more than two hours, 
we were shown through the beautiful grounds of the 
summer palace. The conduct of the troops who had 
occupied them — they were not Americans — had been 
such as to make it hard for us to look our hosts in the 
face, as they pointed out to us the results of their infa- 
mous conduct. Beautiful old bronzes, too heavy to be 
carried away, which had stood in those grounds for 
more than a thousand years, were destroyed by dyna- 
mite. Holes were drilled into them, dynamite sticks 
inserted and fired, thus blowing open and defacing 
pieces of untold value, which could never by any possi- 
bility be replaced. The officials who conducted us only 
glanced at the things so destroyed — ^made no comment 
until some one asked how or why it had been done. 
Then the name of the country whose men had done 
these things was mentioned, but nothing more was said. 

We were fairly started on our return, when a ter- 
rific dust storm broke over us. The air was so thick 
that our bearers had great difficulty in following the 
road. It was like a dense fog at sea — worse, indeed, 
because the flying dust cut the eyes, causing the men to 
stop until they could regain their sight. Frequently 
we found ourselves mixed up with those going in the 
opposite direction, when a wordy war would follow, 
terminated in most cases by the sticks of our cavalry 
escort. We arrived at our temple, having certainly 
swallowed our " peck of dirt," ready for such a rest as 
we could induce the mosquitoes and rats to allow us. 

262 



A Dinner at Pekin 

We had done twenty-six miles in uncomfortable chairs, 
half of it in a blinding dust storm ! 

The day following our visit to the summer palace 
our minister, Mr, Conger, gave a state dinner. Prince 
Chung, Cheng-Chi-Tung, and other high officials at- 
tended. The day was intensely hot, not a breath of air 
could be felt, and the mosquitoes were most active. 
We sat under the trees in the temple yard awaiting the 
arrival of the guests, when the first one appeared, per- 
spiring freely, his head encased in the heavy headgear 
demanded by the occasion. All Chinese gentlemen dine 
with their head covering on. The minister asked the 
newcomer to remove his helmet, which he gladly did, 
handing it to his attendant. When the second guest 
arrived, this attendant hurried back, and the heavy 
headpiece was replaced. Then the two were uncov- 
ered, as the first had been, until the third one ar- 
rived, when they hurriedly covered again! This was 
continued as each guest arrived until all were assem- 
bled, where they solemnly sat with their hats on, watch- 
ing each other like hawks, while the perspiration 
streamed down their faces. 

The half hour of assembling and the dinner that fol- 
lowed were most interesting and instructive to one who 
watched, as I did, the move of each of the players in 
the game. When one of the Chinese officials wished to 
speak to another he left his seat, approached the one to 
be spoken to, placed his mouth close to his ear, and, 
with his own hands on either side of his mouth, whis- 
pered what he had to say. This was before the dinner 
was announced. It was evident that each one of them 
was afraid to allow the others to know what he was 

26z 



An Admirars Log 

saying. Wise old Cheng-Chi-Tung watched them all. 
No two of them exchanged words without his knowl- 
edge, and I could not help thinking that he suspected 
that he was himself the subject of much of the whis- 
pered conversations. 

During the dinner I was seated between Cheng-Chi- 
Tung on my right and a graduate of Yale on my left. 
Behind Cheng-Chi-Tung was his pipe bearer, a delicate- 
looking Chinese boy, who filled his master's pipe and 
passed it to him with the regularity of some mechanical 
device. The number of times the pipe was emptied 
would not be believed if I stated it. The man on my 
left, secretary to some high official, spoke English per- 
fectly, and as the wine warmed him up discussed affairs 
in China with a freedom that was surprising. He was 
eloquent in defence of the Boxers and the course of the 
Chinese government toward them, and very bitter in 
his comments on the conduct of the foreign troops. 
After dinner he presented me with a book he ha.d writ- 
ten, which has since afforded me much amusement. 

The question of opening two more Chinese ports to 
foreign trade was much discussed during this dinner by 
the foreign ministers present. All of them seemed to 
consider it a good thing to do, except the minister from 
Japan, who took little part in the conversation. The 
ports named, which were Mukden and one outside the 
mouth of the Yalu River, met the approval of the Rus- 
sian minister particularly, who had much to say in 
favour of it. 

The following morning I received the card of an 
English officer, who requested to see me on very impor- 
tant and confidential business. It was concerning the 

264 



New Treaty Ports 

two new treaty ports. The English and the Japanese 
ministers were anxious that the one on the Yalu River 
should be actually inside its mouth, to ensure the river 
being kept open to foreign trade. This officer had been 
personally to the place, and one glance at the rough 
sketch of the reconnaissance he had made convinced 
me that the contemplated treaty would not secure the 
desired result. Our minister was confident that it 
would, but after an interview with the Japanese min- 
ister I concluded to look into the matter more closely. 
The Austria, one of our gunboats at Chefoo, was 
commanded by Commander Ward, an officer who, in 
addition to many other excellent qualities, spoke Rus- 
sian fluently; and to him was given the work of exam- 
ining the mouth of the Yalu. He was directed to em- 
ploy the best pilots to be obtained, to make a complete 
running survey of the locality, to report fully on the 
proposed treaty port, and to recommend a suitable one 
for the purpose in view — keeping open the mouth of 
the river. In a short time the work was completed, and 
the report, one of the most valuable and accurate ones 
ever made, was submitted. Later, Mr. Conger wired 
me to know if I could send a gunboat to the mouth of 
the Yalu and, without exciting suspicion, get certain 
information he wanted. I replied at once, sending him 
a copy of Commander Ward's report, which showed 
that the proposed treaty port was well outside the 
actual mouth of the river, was so situated that even 
small boats could only get to it at high water, and that 
it would be of no value to foreign trade if declared 
open. I suggested that if possible there should be sub- 
stituted the name of another port which Commander 

265 



An Admiral's Log 

Ward had recommended. It was well inside the mouth 
of the river, had over sixty thousand inhabitants and 
a thriving trade, with good water up to the docks. It 
was only a few days before the treaty was to be signed, 
and quick action was necessary to secure what we de- 
sired. The combined influence of our own and the 
Japanese minister prevailed, the name of the new port 
was put in, and the treaty signed before the Russian 
influence could prevent it. It may be well to state here 
that if sufficient time had been allowed, this treaty 
would never have been signed; the Russian minister, 
by tactics of which he was master, would have pre- 
vented it. The Chinese government was helpless to 
prevent Russia from doing just as she pleased, and the 
protests of other governments, however strong, had lit- 
tle or no effect. The promise to evacuate Manchuria, 
giving a date at which it would positively be done, had 
been made so often and never kept that such talk now 
was regarded as a joke. The following extract from 
one of my official reports made in July, 1903, shows 
how I felt on the subject: 

" After consultation with our minister at Pekin 
and from my own observation of affairs, I am satisfied 
that the Russians do not intend to evacuate Manchu- 
ria or any part of that territory now occupied by them, 
and it is doubtful that they will do so in the future. 
So long, therefore, as the Russian forces maintain mili- 
tary control of Manchuria and have troops stationed at 
Newchwang, they, of course, are responsible for the 
maintenance of order, and there is no longer need to 
retain any of our vessels at that port. I therefore di- 
rected the Wilmington to rejoin the fleet at Chefoo, 
which she has done. The Wilmington, as will be re- 

266 



Evacuation of Chinese Ports 

membered, was, at the request of the State Department, 
ordered to Newchwang to be there at the expected 
evacuation of that place on April ist last." 

Thus, for three months, we had held a vessel in port 
waiting to see the Russian troops leave, as had been 
promised by their government. A few months later the 
Japanese took a hand in the business, and her soldiers 
soon secured what all others had failed to secure by 
peaceable means — the evacuation of a Chinese treaty 
port which Russia, in the first place, never had any 
right to occupy! 



CHAPTER XXII 

A SUMMER AT CHEFOO 

Upon my return to Chefoo from Pekin, I found 
all the vessels of the fleet assembled there. The new 
battleship Wisconsin was flying the flag of Rear-Ad- 
miral Cooper, who had just arrived to assume com- 
mand of the northern (or cruiser) division of the 
fleet. The battleship Oregon was also in port, and alto- 
gether we had twenty vessels of war in the harbour — a 
greater number than had ever before been assembled 
in any Chinese port. This led the Russian authorities 
at Port Arthur to assume that we were there for the 
purpose of showing our friendship and sympathy for 
Japan as against them. To get to the bottom of this 
and find out exactly why we were mobilised at Chefoo, 
a brilliant young general, Desino by name, was sent to 
watch us. He came prepared for a long stay, brought 
his charming wife and daughters with him, took rooms 
at the hotel, and made himself most agreeable in his 
intercourse with our officers. The object of his visit 
was so apparent that I one day said to him, " General, 
you know we are here this summer only for our 
health ! " He seemed to consider this as very far from 
the real reason, and devoted a great part of his time to 
finding out something that did not exist. I had told 
him the exact reason for our presence! But I am 

268 



Defences of Port Arthur 

free to confess that in doing so I had not expected him 
to believe me. 

The defences of Port Arthur were, of course, of the 
greatest interest to us all from a professional stand- 
point. General Desino was one of the officers who 
had been employed in their design and construction, 
and knew more about their condition than any one else 
with whom I could communicate. He gave me much 
valuable information during our many talks on the 
subject, holding always that no power could capture 
the place if they tried. When I pointed out the impor- 
tance of Pigeon Cove and 203 Metre Hill, two places 
left out of the general plan of defence, he agreed with 
me, and said : 

" I asked for the fortification of these, but my gov- 
ernment would not allow me the money. We will mine 
the Cove and depend upon the concentration of fire 
from other forts for the defence of 203 Metre Hill ! " 

The mines did later keep the fleet out of Pigeon 
Cove, because the Japanese could not afford to lose any 
of their heavy ships, but no amount of concentrated 
fire, bad as it was, prevented the occupation of the Hill 
by the brave men of General Nogi's command. When 
once they held it, the fate of Port Arthur and its de- 
fences was sealed. 

Our fieet spent the summer months at Chefoo. Tar- 
get practice was held for all the ships, including the 
two new battleships, Wisconsin and Oregon, and the 
cruisers Albany and Raleigh, which had just arrived 
from home. The results were far more satisfactory than 
had been attained in previous drills, giving great prom- 
ise for future work. Much time was given to athletics. 

269 



An Admiral's Log 

Men were landed from the ships every day, using the 
fine field which had been provided for us. While ath- 
letic sports were a pastime, affording amusement to 
officers and men, they were at the same time part of the 
drill of the fleet. It was the first time they had been so 
regarded, and the effect was good. 

We soon found, after anchoring the fleet at Che- 
foo, that something was wrong with the charts; either 
the original survey was bad or the harbour had under- 
gone great changes. As the fleet would probably use 
the place for future summers, it was necessary to have 
reliable charts. I directed that a thorough survey be 
made, and Lieutenant Field, a very able and competent 
young officer, organised a surveying party, established 
a station on shore, connected by wire with the observ- 
atory at Shanghai, established accurately the latitude 
and longitude, and proceeded energetically with the 
work. Miles of sounding were run, and, after two 
months of most excellent work, the smooth sheets were 
sent to Washington, where the hydrographic office 
produced a very fine chart of the harbour. When it 
came out to us, it was curious to see how very bad the 
others had been! It was fortunate that some of the 
ships had not been run on shore. 

The hotel accommodations at Chefoo were not first- 
class, but they were bearable. The wives of many of the 
officers of the fleet used them during the summer, and 
were thus enabled to be near their husbands. The 
question of having the wives of officers follow the ships 
from port to port is one that has been much discussed 
in the service and out of it. One Secretary of the 
Navy went so far as to issue an order on the subject, 

270 



Officers' Wives 

but as the wives were in no way liable to the penalties 
prescribed by the regulations for their husbands, this 
order only caused merriment. The women came and 
went as they pleased. Some officers of rank held, and 
still hold, that it was a great detriment to efficiency to 
have them about; others held just the opposite. With- 
out joining either party to this controversy, I felt cer- 
tain that I could not prevent the women from going 
just where they pleased or where their husbands wanted 
them to go. For one, I wanted my wife as near me as 
she could get, and therefore secured quarters for her 
where she might be as comfortable as circumstances 
permitted. At the same time I gave notice, months in 
advance, that the fleet would summer at Chefoo, so 
that those who wished to do so might also secure quar- 
ters. The assertion, often made, that officers are in- 
duced to neglect their duties when ladies are about, in 
order to spend their time on shore with them, has 
always seemed to me weak; but if we grant, for the 
sake of argument, that it has some truth, I still believe 
that the good effect upon officers, particularly young 
ones, of associating with ladies far outweighs any harm 
that can be done by such neglect. In fact, I have never 
known an officer to neglect his duty for any such rea- 
son. But I have known many who have been made 
comfortable and happy by having their wives or sweet- 
hearts where they could see them when off duty. 

Early in September a typhoon swept up the coast 
of China, the tail of it striking us at Chefoo. The 
wind brought in a heavy sea, which made the small 
ships roll and pitch badly, but no serious damage was 
done beyond the loss of a few anchors. The air was 

271 



An Admiral's Log 

so thick with the mist driven in by the gale that the 
vessels could not be seen, and, as many of them 
dragged their anchors, we were fortunate to escape 
injury. I was caught on shore by the storm, and wit- 
nessed the destruction caused by a cloudburst on the 
mountains back -of the city. The water — one couldn't 
call it rain — seemed to come in a mass from a very 
black cloud which swept down from the mountains, 
and instantly the whole surrounding country was 
deluged. Small streams were converted into roaring 
torrents, rushing with irresistible force to the sea and 
bringing with them everything in their way. Houses, 
lumber, animals of all kinds, and even human beings 
were rolled over and over until they landed in the 
harbour, to be pounded by the heavy surf that was 
breaking on the beach. I stood and watched the pitiful 
scene for some time, unable to render the least assist- 
ance. It was beyond any human effort; we could only 
watch the destruction and hope that the end would 
soon come. The danger on shore was many times 
greater than on the ships, though most people would 
not believe it. Not a man was hurt in the fleet. 
Twenty-five hundred were drowned or killed on shore! 
Men, women, and children were beaten down in the 
roads and fields by the force of the downpour, and 
drowned before help could reach them. 

When the storm finally passed, which it did as sud- 
denly as it came, the sight from our hotel windows was 
grand and impressive. On the beach immediately in 
front of us were several large, timber-laden junks 
which had grounded and were rapidly going to pieces, 
while their crews struggled among the heavy timbers 



Gifts from the Empress Dowager 

which floated out of the boats. The whole surface 
of the sea was covered with the debris brought out by 
the flood, and dead bodies were constantly exposed by 
the falling tide. I watched with intense interest the 
struggles of some of the poor beasts that had been 
swept out by the rush of water. A milch cow swam for 
more than an hour in the rough sea, finally landed, 
walked up the shore, and was tied up in the hotel yard 
to await an owner. She was swelled until her skin was 
as tight as a drum-head. After resting a few hours, she 
seemed to resume her natural size and appearance, 
showing no bad effects from her long struggle. Two 
very large, fat hogs also landed on the shore after 
being in the water more than an hour. They swam 
easily, showing no signs of distress, but, like the cow, 
they were very much swollen when they came ashore. 
The old idea that a pig would cut his own throat in 
swimming was clearly disproved in this case. They not 
only swam well, but showed no marks of any kind of 
injury when examined. 

A few days after my return from Pekin a large 
packing case came from the Empress Dowager, ad- 
dressed to my wife. When delivered on board the flag- 
ship it was found to contain various articles of food, 
packed in large earthenware jars. Some of them con- 
tained chicken preserved in wine, old chicken and 
very good wine, but, unlike most good wine, this 
had not improved with age! Other jars contained 
pork or eggs, all preserved in wine. It was cer- 
tainly most gracious in her Majesty to send such a 
valuable present, but the food did not prove to be to 
our taste, probably because we did not know how to 

^7Z 



An Admiral's Log 

prepare it for the table. Our efforts produced many- 
bad odours, but nothing else. 

Early in July I received words of commendation 
from Washington regarding our work in Manila, as the 
following letters will show : 

Navy Department, 
Washington, June 5, 1903. 

Sir: 

Your report of February 7, 1903, No. 26 D, on the 
special operations and manoeuvres of the Asiatic Fleet 
in and about Manila and Subig Bays has received the 
attentive consideration of the general board, which has 
reported on it to the department, with commendation of 
its full and interesting details and the success and in- 
structiveness of the manoeuvres. The general plan 
seems to have been well adapted to the resources at 
your command and to operations probable in the event 
of actual war in the far East; the enthusiasm and gen- 
eral efficiency of the officers and men admirable. 

The department takes pleasure in communicating to 
you the favourable opinion of the general board, in 
which the department concurs, appreciating the sus- 
tained zeal and ability of your administration. 

Yours respectfully, 

Chas. H. Darling, 
Acting Secretary. 

Upon the receipt of this letter its contents were 
made known to the officers and men, and the following 
written to the commander of the Philippine division : 

Flagship Kentucky, 
Chefoo, China, July 8, 1903. 

Sir: 

I. I enclose herewith a copy of letter No. 673, 36 B, 
of June 3, 1903, from the department, expressing its 

274 



Trouble at Poyang Lake 

pleasure with the operations and manoeuvres of the fleet 
in and about Manila and Subig Bays. 

2. It is very gratifying to receive letters of this 
character, and I desire that you will communicate its 
contents to each of the vessels of the squadron under 
your command, that all who have tended to the good 
results should share in the department's commendation. 

Very respectfully, 

R. D. Evans, 
Rear-Admiral U. S. Navy, 
Commander-in-Chief United States 
Asiatic Fleet. 



The receipt of this letter put new life into the offi- 
cers and men. We all determined to show, if possible, 
even better results in the future. 

During the month of August reports had reached 
me of threatened trouble for our missionaries and mer- 
chants in the Poyang Lake district, particularly on the 
Kan River at Wan-kia-tau and Nan-chang. I at once 
sent the gunboat Villalobos to look into the matter and 
afford all necessary protection. Much to my surprise, 
the commanding officer reported to me that our consul 
at Kow-kiang had read to him a letter from the Tao-Tai 
(governor) complaining of the visit of the Villalobos. 
The consul-general seemed to sustain the action of the 
Tao-Tai, which caused me to write the following letter : 



Flagship Kentucky, 
Chefoo, China, July 30, 1903. 
Sir: 

I. I have to acknowledge the receipt of your No. 
77-03 and 13-03 of the 226. instant, relative to the 
movements of the U. S. S. Villalobos. 

275 



An Admiral's Log 

2. I have considered with much care paragraph i6 
of the letter above referred to, relative to the contents 
of the letter, read to you by our consul-general, from 
the Tao-Tai at Kow-kiang, reporting that a French 
gunboat had gone through Poyang Lake and up the 
Kan River to Wan-kia-tau, and thence by boat to Nan- 
chang, which corresponds, as you state, with the 
movements of the Villalobos, and is presumably in- 
tended to mean that vessel. Further, that the Tao- 
Tai insisted in his letter that such visits should be 
prohibited, and that the foreign representatives had 
previously been warned not to send gunboats to the 
Poyang district, as the people thereabouts are " bad 
men." 

3. Your visit with the Villalobos to Nan-chang for 
the purpose of investigating the condition and provid- 
ing for the protection of the lives and property of 
Americans is approved. It is my desire that, so far as 
practicable, similar visits be paid to all Americans hav- 
ing property or other lawful interests in China, that I 
may be kept fully informed regarding all things con- 
cerning their welfare. 

4. You will, if occasion offers, inform the Tao-Tai 
who wrote the letter protesting to the consul-general 
against your vessel that his objections will not receive 
consideration, and that if he thinks the people of the 
Poyang district are " bad men," that such a reason is a 
greater cause for more frequent visits and more careful 
inspections of our interests by our armed vessels, and 
that those visits will be continued in the future as in 
the past. You are also authorised to inform the Tao- 
Tai, should occasion offer, and any other Chinese offi- 
cials who may raise objections of this character, that 
our gunboats are always amply provided for dealing 
with " bad men," and if there should be any indication 
to pay other than proper respect to American life and 
property on the part of these men, that they will be 
dealt with immediately, and that the gunboats will, 

276 



Authority for Action 

without further instructions, administer severe and last- 
ing punishment. 

5. It is expected that the Tao-Tai and other officials 
of China will suppress all disorder and give ample pro- 
tection to the lives and property of Americans; but if 
these officials fail to do so, the question of adequate 
and proper protection will be taken in hand by our 
gunboats. In order to satisfy ourselves that the 
various local officials are properly affording protec- 
tion, our gunboats will continue to navigate the 
Poyang Lake and the various other inland waters 
of China wherever Americans may be, and where, 
by treaty with China, they are authorised to engage 
in business or reside for the purpose of spreading the 
Gospel. 

Very respectfully, 

R. D. Evans, 
Rear-Admiral U. S. Navy, 
Commander-in-Chief United States 
Asiatic Fleet. 
To the Commanding Officer U. S. S. Villalohos. 

My action in this matter was fully reported to the 
Navy Department, and also to our minister in Pekin. 
Much to my surprise, Mr. Conger replied to my letter, 
rather siding with the Tao-Tai in the position he had 
taken. He asked me to give him my authority for 
sending gunboats into Poyang Lake and under what 
specific treaty I had acted. I stated in reply that I had 
not acted under any specific treaty; that my action was 
based on the broad principle that wherever the Chinese 
government allowed American citizens to reside and 
engage in business, commercial or otherwise, I claimed 
the right to send the proper force to protect them in 
case of necessity. Here the matter rested until the 
19 277 



An Admiral's Log 

Navy Department referred my report to the State De- 
partment. The gunboats in the meantime continued to 
patrol the Poyang Lake district. The Secretary of 
State, Mr. Hay, after considering my report, addressed 
a letter to Mr. Conger, our minister in Pekin, a copy 
of which was forwarded to me. In this letter Mr. Hay 
stated that the position assumed by me was absolutely 
and entirely correct, and expressed surprise that Mr. 
Conger had differed with me. He also gave Mr. Con- 
ger the information he had asked of me, viz. : the spe- 
cific treaties under which he upheld my action. These 
were treaties with other countries than our own of 
which I had no knowledge, but under " the-most- 
favoured-nation " clause applied to us, I regretted this 
difference with our minister at Pekin. It was the only 
one we ever had. It did result in much good, however, 
for it gave the commander-in-chief of the Asiatic Fleet, 
for the first time, an idea of how the State Department 
regarded this important matter. Naval commanders 
are frequently called upon to act promptly in important 
matters, and they generally have to do it without as- 
sistance from the State Department or any other recog- 
nised authority. If they meet the approval of their 
government, their action is commended. They some- 
times receive a reprimand, though their action is ap- 
proved, but not officially so. Such was the case with 
Captain Wilkes when he removed Mason and Slidell 
from the British steamer Trent during the Civil War, 
and Captain Collins, who captured the Confederate 
cruiser Florida in a neutral Brazilian port and brought 
her to the United States. We must use our best judg- 
ment on such occasions, and if our government finds it 

278 



German Consideration 

necessary to reprimand us, take our punishment with- 
out complaint. 

The end of September saw our work at Chefoo com- 
pleted as far as it could be under the circumstances. 
Three cruisers had reported for duty — the Albany, sis- 
ter ship to the New Orleans; the Cincinnati, built in 
the United States; and her sister ship, the Raleigh. 
The last named was almost unfit to go to sea because 
of bad work done on her boilers and engines at the 
Portsmouth Navy Yard, and it was necessary to put 
her in a dockyard for repairs at once. Indeed, all the 
ships required some minor repairs, and, as we had no 
station of our own where such work could be done, I 
sent the cruiser division, under Rear-Admiral Cooper, 
to Yokohama, that he might utilise the facilities of the 
Yokosuka Navy Yard. With the Kentucky, Oregon, 
Helena, and Wilmington, I sailed for Nagasaki, where 
there were excellent machine shops for the work we 
required. En route we stopped at Tsingtao, where 
the Germans again received us most cordially and did 
everything in their power to render our visit enjoyable. 
Many entertainments were planned and given, among 
them several dinners on shore for the enlisted men. 

On one occasion during this visit I had been dining 
with the governor, and on my way to my boat, after 
midnight, I passed what seemed to be a large military 
warehouse. It was on the water front, very near the 
landing for our boats. As I approached the building I 
noticed that it was lighted, and had a guard of German 
sailors about the door. The German officer who had 
been detailed for duty on my staff and was with me at 
the time asked if I would look in for a moment, which 

279 



An Admiral's Log 

I did, and was much surprised at what I saw. The 
large lower floor had been furnished with over two hun- 
dred cot beds, and each one contained an American blue- 
jacket, sound asleep, under care of the German sailors 
on guard at the door. Here they slept quietly until the 
boats came in for them in the morning, when they re- 
turned, clean and sober, to their ships for breakfast. 
In all my experience I had never before witnessed such 
a sight, and I took great pleasure in thanking the Ger- 
man Admiral, Count Baudissin, who had commanded 
the Hohenzollern in New York, for his great courtesy 
and kindness to my men. 

At Nagasaki the repairs to the ships were taken in 
hand at once and hurried to completion. War prepara- 
tions were evident everywhere, and I was thankful that 
the shops could spare the time from their own work to 
do what was required for me. The work being done by 
the Japanese clearly indicated that they expected to ship 
a large number of men and vast supplies from this port. 
Railroad switches to all docks were being rapidly, 
though quietly, constructed, and to all the wharves 
where steamers could land, thus connecting the docks 
with the main lines of railroad leading into the interior. 
Several Russian warships were in port, and their offi- 
cers seemed curiously indifferent to what was going on 
under their very noses. They still declared that Japan 
would never dare to make war on them! 

Repairs being completed, I proceeded to Kobe, in- 
tending to assemble the fleet there for drills before pro- 
ceeding to Manila for record target practice. The 
water about Kobe was well suited for the work I pro- 
jected, and the town was one of the best on the coast 

280 



Unexpected Orders 

in which to give liberty to our men. Orders were issued 
for the ships at Yokohama to join me as fast as their 
repairs were completed. Everything pointed to a most 
interesting period of fleet drills, when one morning a 
bomb dropped on us in the shape of a cipher message 
from the Secretary of the Navy at Washington, asking 
how soon I could sail for Honolulu with three battle- 
ships and four cruisers. I replied that I could sail as 
soon as the necessary coal could be taken in — about 
twelve hours — twenty-four hours at most. At the 
same time I advised, unless the emergency was 
great, that I be allowed to dock some of the ships 
and paint their bottoms before sailing. This was 
granted in a subsequent telegram, directing me to 
sail with the fleet the moment the ships were ready 
and make the best of my way to Honolulu. I was left 
in absolute ignorance as to what I was to do on arriv- 
ing — whether I was to fight or cruise on to the coast 
of California. I was on my back with a severe attack 
of inflammatory rheumatism when the first telegram 
came. The doctors had been working over me for some 
time without any apparent benefit. The message did 
what they had failed to do — put me on my feet at once 
and made me forget the pain. 

Instead of assembling at Kobe, I sailed for Yoko- 
hama, where I could have an eye on the work to com- 
plete it so as to sail at the earliest moment. I could 
form no idea of the reason for such a sudden call for 
the fleet, but I felt that it must be some very important 
matter that would take us away from Japan at the mo- 
ment when she was about to declare war with Russia. 
I never knew why I was sent on this long cruise until 

281 



An Admiral's Log 

several years after, when the President himself told 
me. We were about to acquire the Panama Canal zone, 
and there was a rumour that some of the South Ameri- 
can republics would place obstacles in our way. The 
President wished to know, and it may be have others 
know, just how long it would take to have the Asiatic 
Fleet at Honolulu, ready for service in the South Pa- 
cific. By a practical demonstration he got the informa- 
tion he wanted, and was pleased to know how short the 
time really was. 

All the telegrams sent me about the sailing of the 
fleet were in cipher, but the Japanese government knew 
as much about it as I did. The news was given out in 
Washington and wired to Tokio, where it caused much 
excitement and comment. The Japanese felt that we 
were deserting them at a time when they sorely needed 
our moral support, and that the Russians would so 
regard this movement of our fleet. It was not my busi- 
ness to correct this impression, even had it been in my 
power to do so. We had a representative in the Jap- 
anese capital to attend to such matters. Before sailing 
I called on the Japanese authorities to say good-bye. 
One of the cabinet ministers, who was a warm personal 
friend, asked me to convey a message to President 
Roosevelt for him. 

" Please say to the President that war between 
Japan and Russia is inevitable unless England and the 
United States interfere. We have done everything 
possible to prevent it, and have failed." 

On my arrival in Honolulu I was careful to see that 
this message was duly transmitted. 

The manner of hunting wild ducks in Japan had 
282 



Hunting Ducks in Japan 

long interested me, and before sailing I had an oppor- 
tunity to enjoy this sport. Baron Kaneko had a fine 
duck pond on his place near Tokio, where royalty fre- 
quently hunted, and to this I and the members of my 
family were invited. The pond was an artificial one, 
made in an old rice field. Bamboos and other quick- 
growing trees had been planted to enclose an area of a 
few acres, and the earth heaped up about their roots to 
hold the water in the pond and screen the ducks therein 
from the view of any one outside. The water in the 
pond was two or three feet deep. As soon as ducks 
began to appear, the pond was generously baited with 
rice to attract them, and they resorted to it in great 
numbers to feed. At regular intervals ditches about 
four feet wide were cut through the bamboos and the 
embankment. These ditches were cut with an elbow, 
or bend, so that they did not permit the ducks inside to 
see what was in the ditch outside. The banks of the 
ditches were built up about three feet high, and at the 
end of each one was a small watch-house from which 
the number of ducks could be counted and reported to 
the hunters waiting to catch them. 

A number of trained tame ducks were used as de- 
coys. They were always fed by putting grain in the 
ditches instead of the pond, so they resorted to them to 
feed. When the grain was put into the ditch, a wire 
screen across the mouth was withdrawn, and the Jap- 
anese attendant drummed on the side of the watch- 
house with a stick, which was the signal to the decoys 
that their meal was served, and they swam for it from 
all parts of the pond. The wild ducks, whose food had 
been cut down in the pond, soon learned what this sig- 

283 



An Admiral's Log 

nal meant, and they joined their tame friends and swam 
into the ditches to feed. 

The hunters in the meantime were quietly assembled 
near the watch-houses, under cover. Each one was pro- 
vided with a butterfly net with a long bamboo handle. 
The watchmen, looking through a small hole, counted 
the number of wild ducks in the ditch, signalled this 
with his fingers to the waiting hunters, and the sport 
began. The party was divided, half approaching the 
ditch on either side, all in Indian file, moving noiselessly 
until all were in position. As we stood up, the wild 
ducks jumped into the air to escape, and flew into our 
nets. Then the decoy ducks were driven back into the 
pond, ready to bring more of their wild companions to 
the net. As soon as the ducks were caught, a Japanese 
attendant took charge of them, killed, and prepared 
them for the meal that was to follow. It was deadly 
work for the ducks, for I only saw one escape the nets 
while I watched them, I caught one, a fine mallard, 
which was enough for me. I couldn't help thinking 
what my dear old sporting friends, Mr. Cleveland, Gen- 
eral McCook, and others, would say if they could see 
me with a butterfly net catching gray mallards ! It was 
a fine pastime for ladies, but I saw no sport in it — the 
ducks had no chance in the world to escape. Decoyed 
by their tame companions, they could not get into any- 
thing like a fair flight before they were in the nets. 

I found a spot where, by peeping through the bam- 
boo, I could observe the flock in the pond without being 
seen myself. At a rough estimate, I placed the number 
of ducks feeding or sleeping on the water at two thou- 
sand. All kinds were there — mallard, widgeon, sprig 

284 



A Royal Feast 

tails, black heads, two or three kinds of teal, and sev- 
eral kinds I had never before seen. In the midst of a 
thickly settled country this great flock of wild birds 
behaved exactly as if no enemy were within a hundred 
miles of them, simply because they could not see the 
danger that was gradually killing them off. It was a 
neat, merciful way of killing them, because none of 
them went off wounded to die of starvation or became 
food for hawks or coons, but I could not feel that it 
was work for a sportsman — one who loves the work of 
decoying the birds for himself, and then watching the 
beautiful flight as they try to escape the gun. 

When the hunters were satisfied with their sport 
we retired to the Baron's hunting lodge, only a few 
hundred yards from the pond, where we found a beau- 
tiful table, curiously furnished. In addition to the few 
plates necessary, every place had a small charcoal stove 
with a griddle on top, such as one would use in baking 
buckwheat or griddle cakes. The breasts of the ducks 
killed had been cut into thin slices and a plate of them 
served for each guest. There was also a small cup of 
soy, a Japanese sauce of the nature of Worcestershire, 
by each plate. When we were all assembled and seated 
we proceeded to cook our meal, each for himself. The 
slices of duck were first dipped in the soy and allowed 
to soak for a moment, when they were placed on the 
hot grill, cooked to taste, and eaten with bread and 
butter and washed down with champagne. All the 
ducks not consumed were taken back with us to 
Tokio for home consumption. Our return was made 
in less than an hour, showing how near to the 
heart of the great city the hunting had taken place. 

285 



CHAPTER XXIII 

ORDERED TO HONOLULU 

Everything being in readiness, we said good-bye 
to our families — we were not to see them again for 
many long months — and sailed from Yokohama in two 
divisions for Honolulu. Admiral Cooper, with the 
cruiser division, consisting of the New Orleans, flag- 
ship, the Cincinnati, and Albany, was to touch at Mid- 
way Island, where two colliers would meet him, coal, if 
necessary, and then join me at sea a few hundred miles 
from the Sandwich Islands. With the battleships Ken- 
tucky, Wisconsin, and Oregon under my immediate 
command, I would regulate my speed so as to make the 
rendezvous as ordered. My intention was to follow the 
great circle route between Yokohama and Honolulu, so 
as to economise coal, but I found later that I could not 
do this because of the heavy sea encountered, I had to 
run off a bit, but this made the ships much steadier, 
and, though we ran a longer course, we made better 
time. 

After leaving Yokohama I set the speed for the bat- 
tleships at twelve knots, and at this speed made half 
the distance to Honolulu, then changed it to thirteen 
knots, at which we ran the other half, thus doing the 
whole at a speed of twelve and one-half knots, which 
I believe to be the greatest speed at which a squadron 

286 



A Heavy Sea 

of battleships ever made so long a run. Once well clear 
of the land, I found a very heavy swell caused by bad 
gales in the Arctic. At the same time the wind blew 
with such force that the ships were made very uncom- 
fortable. We had the long swell coming down from 
the far north and, in addition, the new sea kicked up 
by the prevailing wind. For nine days we ran with this 
sea on the quarter, gradually drawing astern until we 
were running before it. All this time the hatches abaft 
the superstructure were continually closed, as the seas 
broke completely over the after part of the ships. It 
was not safe to send a man onto the quarter-deck for 
fear that he would be washed overboard. We were 
steaming in column, each ship following the one ahead 
of her, four hundred yards apart, the Kentucky lead- 
ing. As the flagship would settle down in the trough 
of the sea the others would be entirely out of sight, and 
when they were in the trough of the sea we were en- 
tirely out of sight to them. I had rarely seen such a 
heavy sea, and in order to determine, if possible, the 
height of the waves, I directed several officers to esti- 
mate it from the bridge of the Kentucky. The mean of 
their estimates gave forty-live feet as the vertical height 
of the waves. 

The sea ran down when we passed the longitude of 
Midway Island, and the weather became as beautiful as 
one could ask. The cruiser squadron joined company 
at the time and place ordered, and the nine ships stood 
on to Honolulu, where they arrived without any acci- 
dent of any kind twelve days after sailing from the 
coast of Japan. I wired my arrival to the Secretary of 
the Navy, and moored all the ships in the inner har- 

287 



An Admiral's Log 

bour. Coal was taken in at once, and I notified the 
department that I would be ready in twelve hours to 
proceed to sea. In reply I was informed that when in 
all respects ready I would return with the fleet to Ma- 
nila, touching en route at the Island of Guam. Also, 
if I found no objection, I might, in accordance with 
the expressed wishes of the people of Honolulu, remain 
there four days, which I very gladly did. 

Two unpleasant incidents marked the arrival of the 
fleet at Honolulu, but both of them were settled without 
much trouble. Our naval station was commanded by a 
flag officer with whom my personal relations were not 
particularly cordial. As said by a prominent western 
senator who was not on terms with one of his col- 
leagues, 

" We do not speak as we pass by — 
Not me to him, or him to I," 

The boarding officer who came to my flagship from 
the commandant requested that I would have the marine 
guard ready to land, as he feared trouble with the col- 
lector of customs of the port, who had that morning 
threatened to place custom-house guards on the wharf 
to prevent my men from smuggling. The wharf where 
two of the ships would moor was the property of the 
Navy Department, and this threat of the agent of an- 
other department of the government to practically take 
charge of it by placing guards on it had caused a bit- 
ter quarrel between the commandant, who was right in 
his contention, and the collector of customs, who was 
wrong in his. The ship was properly secured ; the com- 
mandant had been officially received and had taken his 

288 



Difficulty with the Collector 

departure, after telling me of his troubles. The marines 
were ready to land if their services should be required, 
and I was eating my breakfast when the collector was 
ushered into my cabin. He was a pleasant-mannered 
man, tall and fine-looking, but the flush in his face indi- 
cated that he was labouring under excitement. I asked 
him to breakfast with me, which he declined. I then 
asked him to have a cigar, which he also declined. 
Then I requested him to state his business with me, 
which he proceeded to do. 

He explained that some of the troops returning from 
the Philippines had caused trouble by smuggling Manila 
cigars into Honolulu. This was interesting, but not in 
any way my affair, as I made clear in a few words. Then 
he said that, fearing my men would do the same thing, 
he proposed to station his men so that they could pre- 
vent it. I pointed out to him that it would be necessary 
for me to remove, forcibly if need be, any of his guards 
found on naval ground. I asked him how long he had 
been in the employ of the United States government, 
and his answer was, as I recall it, about four years. I 
told him that I had been about forty years longer than 
he had, that I had tried to learn the laws of my country, 
and was under oath to see them enforced, just as he 
was, and that it seemed to me a most remarkable thing, 
almost an insult, for him to imply not only that I 
would not enforce the law with my men, but that I 
would admit that such was the case by allowing him to 
enforce it for me ! And, further, that he expected me 
to place myself and all under my command in the cate- 
gory of smugglers. 

This presentation of the case seemed to strike the 
289 



An Admiral's Log 

collector as reasonable, and he frankly said so. I called 
my flag lieutenant and directed him to make signal to 
the fleet : 

" Commander-in-chief orders that commanding offi- 
cers will be particularly careful that the revenue laws 
are not violated by those under their command." 

The collector said that this was all that he could ask, 
that he was perfectly satisfied, and, further, that if any 
of the officers or men of the fleet had Christmas pres- 
ents for their friends which they wished forwarded he 
would be glad to send them on without the payment of 
duty if presented at his office. In other words, he was a 
gentleman and most reasonable when properly ap- 
proached. I never had a bit of trouble with him after- 
wards. 

While the collector of customs was still talking 
with me a young man, quite a lad, thin and not over- 
well dressed, was brought to me by the officer of the 
deck. He wore no uniform except a cap, on which was 
a brass tag or plate with some inscription on it. He 
said that he came from the commissioner of immigra- 
tion, who wished him to say to me that the immigration 
laws of the United States were in force in Honolulu, 
and that I must not permit any Chinese servants to land 
without a written permit from him. As can be easily 
imagined, this fairly took my breath away. We had 
come from the East, where Chinese were employed on 
board our ships as servants, without a chance to change 
them, and without an intimation that we would have 
trouble about them. In fact, at the moment when I 
received this word from the commissioner twenty-five 
or thirty Chinese stewards were actually on shore pro- 

290 



Immigration Commissioner Interferes 

curing food for the thousands of hungry throats In the 
fleet, I told the young man with the brass-labelled cap 
to present my compliments to the commissioner of im- 
migration, and say to him that every man in the fleet 
was a properly enlisted man in the navy of the United 
States, and that if he interfered with one of them I 
would put him where the dogs wouldn't bite him! 
When the youngster had gone, the collector, who had 
heard his message, said that I would probably have 
trouble with the commissioner, as he was disposed to 
make trouble at times. 

I had come to Honolulu in obedience to orders from 
my superiors, and not to have trouble with any one — 
I was too busy for that kind of amusement — ^but I 
did not propose to have my business interfered with or 
permit it to be done to avoid trouble. If the commis- 
sioner wanted to force a row with me, the way was 
open for him to do so. 

After finishing my breakfast, I wired the Secretary 
of the Navy regarding the action, or, rather, threat- 
ened action, of the commissioner, and suggested that 
the immigration laws should be suspended as far as 
they applied to the fleet during my stay in port. A few 
hours later the reply came : 

" Secretary of Commerce and Labour has suspended 
operations of immigration laws as far as the fleet is 
concerned during your stay in Honolulu." 

I received a note from the commissioner at my 
hotel that evening, stating that he would be on board 
my flagship at ten o'clock on the following morning for 
a conference with me. He did not state what he wished 
to confer about. I replied that I would call at his ofiice 

291 



An Admiral's Log 

in the morning. I considered that a more desirable 
place to confer, because I could end the conference 
more expeditiously than in my cabin without giving 
offence. I could walk out when I had heard what the 
commissioner had to say ! 

At 9.30 the following morning, accompanied by my 
flag lieutenant, I called on him, and was received by 
the commissioner, who sat in his shirt sleeves, smoking 
a pipe, with his feet on top of his desk ! He began by 
telling me just how he wished me to regulate the land- 
ing of the Asiatics in the fleet ; that I would give each 
one a pass, send him, accompanied by an officer, to his 
office; that he would countersign my pass, etc., etc. 
When I had heard him as patiently as I could, I read 
him the telegram from the Secretary of Commerce and 
Labour, informed him that I did not require any assist- 
ance in the matter of landing those under my com- 
mand, Asiatics included, wished him good-morning, 
and returned to my flagship. I never heard of him 
afterwards. When the fleet left we took with us every' 
man we had when we came — not one deserted. 

Our reception by the good people of Honolulu was 
delightful in every way. They entertained the officers 
and men royally. The streets of the city were con- 
stantly filled with bluejackets, to whom places of 
amusement were thrown open free of charge. Athletic 
sports were entered into with great spirit, not only by 
men of different ships, but with the residents, who 
played baseball so well that we found it impossible to 
win a game from them. Governor Carter not only en- 
tertained the officers with great hospitality, but he vis- 
ited the field where the bluejackets were fighting for 

292 



Return to Manila 

supremacy in football and encouraged them by his pres- 
ence. An old Yale player himself, he was good enough 
to say that we played a surprisingly fine, clean game. 
Everything was done to make our Christmas a merry 
one, and we appreciated the efforts of the kind-hearted 
people. In return for their courtesy we gave a ball, 
which I think was the finest thing of the kind I have 
ever seen. The two battleships, Kentucky and Wiscon- 
sin, were moored on opposite sides of the government 
pier. This was converted into a veritable flower gar- 
den, lighted by electric bulbs suspended from lines run- 
ning between the mast heads of the two ships. Small 
tables were placed among the palms and flowers, and 
supper was served on these at midnight. Both ships 
were gorgeously dressed with flags and flowers and 
brilliantly lighted. Two fine bands provided music, and 
officers and men, all in white uniforms, received and 
entertained our guests. Dancing was kept up until day- 
light put an end to our frolic, which had been thor- 
oughly enjoyed by all. 

We left the harbour of Honolulu when the time 
given by the Navy Department had expired, and started 
on our way to Manila. The cruiser squadron, under 
command of Admiral Cooper, with two colliers, pro- 
ceeded, by way of Midway Island, where the Cable 
Company had just established a station. I went with 
the battleships direct to Guam, where the cruisers were 
to join me, and after coaling make the best of their way 
at full speed to Manila. En route I touched at Wakes 
Island, one of our Pacific Ocean possessions of which 
very little is known by our people generally. 

The U. S. S. Bennington, commanded by Com- 

30 293 



An Admiral's Log 

mander Taussig, on her way home from Manila after 
the Spanish War, touched at the island, and the Ameri- 
can flag was hoisted. A copper plate, properly in- 
scribed, was placed on the face of a large boulder at 
the foot of the flagstaff, and now occasionally a vessel 
of war lands an ofiicer to see that this plate is still in 
place. The island is only a coral patch, rising twenty 
or thirty feet above water at its highest point. It 
contains probably thirty acres above water and twice as 
much more in sight, but not yet above water. Around 
the eastern, southern, and western sides the usual reef 
extends which protects the solid part from the heavy 
sea which always breaks with great force on the north 
and west sides, owing to the prevailing north-west 
winds, which often develop into furious gales. We ap- 
proached from the south side of the islands, found good 
water close up to the land, and sent in two boats with 
officers and men to see what was going on. The sea 
was breaking furiously over the reefs, but where we 
were it was as smooth as the proverbial mill-pond. The 
boat landed at a convenient spot near the flagstaff, and 
after an absence of a few hours returned, bringing with 
them a boat load of Japanese fishermen. 

The officer in charge of the landing party made an 
interesting report of what he had seen. Our plate was 
still in place, proclaiming to all the ownership of the 
island. A lagoon of considerable size and depth was 
found penetrating the highest part of the island, and 
containing a great variety of fishes, which could be 
plainly seen in the clear sea water. The highest parts 
of the island were covered with small, sturdy trees, and 
among these, in a protected place, the Japanese had 

294 



Wakes Island 

their camps, where they lived on fish and such tinned 
stores as remained of the supply that had been landed 
with them five months before. They managed to catch 
enough rain water to supply their needs. The head 
man of the party reported that they had been landed 
from a fishing schooner five months before, and that 
she would call for them in three or four months. Fif- 
teen men composed the party, and they claimed to be 
securing birds' skins for the Paris market. They pre- 
sented me with several very beautiful specimens. The 
island was the home of vast flocks of sea birds of many 
different varieties, which were killed at night with flat 
paddles in such number as required, and the skins re- 
moved and preserved during the daytime. Five or six 
thousand skins were on hand, ready for shipment. I 
was convinced that the real object sought was pearls, 
but I could find no evidence that pearl oysters had been 
taken, so had to accept the bird-skin story. 

The Japanese in charge of the party came off and 
reported all his men well, except one, who was suffer- 
ing from beri-beri, and that the only thing wanted, or, 
rather, the thing they wanted most, was cigarettes and 
tobacco. Our surgeon treated the sick man, and the 
ward-room mess gave them plenty of tobacco and fresh 
stores. The last I saw of them they were carrying 
their new-found treasures up to their camp, seemingly 
as happy as if they were at home, instead of on a deso- 
late island in the middle of the Pacific, where they must 
remain for many weary months. 

Unless natural causes fail, this island will continue 
to grow, and may some day become an important point 
in more ways than one. I watched it with keen interest 

29s 



An Admiral's Log 

as we went on our way, and it gradually dropped below 
the horizon astern of us. I had a strong feeling that I 
should like to join the Japanese party and spend a few 
months with the birds and fishes. Robinson Crusoe 
still lingered in my mind; all the charm of his doings 
had not entirely faded from my memory, though they 
had been read to me when I was a small boy. 

From Wakes Island to Guam was only a short run, 
and we soon covered the distance, passing as we did so 
over the breeding place of typhoons and hurricanes. It 
is now known that all the circular storms, called ty- 
phoons, which do such damage to the coasts of China 
and Japan, as well as the Philippine Islands, form in 
the tropical seas to the south of Guam, and then start 
on their deadly course. In their earlier days they do 
little harm in the islands, but when they recurve and 
come back, which they sometimes do, they are very 
destructive, leaving nothing but ruin in their wake. 
The observatory at Manila, owned and operated by 
Catholic priests, gives wonderfully accurate warnings 
of these storms. Their predictions are telegraphed all 
over the East, thus benefiting the men who go down to 
the sea in ships as well as those who dwell on shore. 
When wireless telegraphy has been further developed it 
is hoped that much greater good may be done. 

We found the harbour at Guam a perfect one under 
ordinary circumstances, but when a severe typhoon 
comes twisting along very dangerous. By the expendi- 
ture of a reasonable sum of money it could be made 
perfectly safe at all times. Up to the present time Con- 
gress had refused appropriations for the purpose, and 
the harbour remains as it was when we captured the 

296 



Inhabitants of Guam 

island, or, rather, took possession of it, for there was 
no resistance from the Spaniards, The island is ruled 
by a naval officer who, under the title of governor, 
makes and unmakes laws as he may find it necessary. 
Our colliers were ready for us when we anchored, and 
while the ships were coaling- I paid my respects to the 
governor. I found him in his capital, Agana, so ill 
that I ordered him home at once. Poor fellow ! the trip 
was too much for him, and he died before reaching San 
Francisco. 

The inhabitants of Guam are quiet and peaceable, 
but very poor. They live as best they can by fishing 
and cultivating cocoanuts. They sell the copra from the 
cocoanut trees when the nuts have been gathered, but 
a typhoon will; in an hour sometimes, destroy the entire 
crop, and then much misery follows. At the time of 
my visit the results of a storm that had swept over the 
island a year before were evident everywhere, but par- 
ticularly so in the trees, which were uprooted and 
twisted out of shape on all sides. The people were 
struggling to live on their flocks of chickens and the 
little garden patches which they cultivated under the 
glaring tropical sun. It may be truly said that Guam is 
of little value to us, but it is equally true that it would 
be a serious threat to our interests in the East if it 
were held by any nation unfriendly to us. Therefore, it 
seems to me that it behooves us to make it safe. At 
present there is not a gun in position to defend it. Any 
one who wants it can take it in an hour. Should we 
defend it or give it up ? To answer this question brings 
up another and greater question, What is to be our 
policy in the East? That some one else must answer. 

297 



An Admiral's Loo- 



& 



From Guam we could reach Manila either by going 
around the north end of the island of Luzon or by pass- 
ing through the straits of San Bernardino, thence in- 
side through the islands. I preferred the latter, as I 
wished to judge the difficulties to be encountered by an 
enemy's fleet in case we ever had war, and to see what 
chance there would be for forts at prominent points. 
For two days before we arrived at the straits we ran in 
a dense fog, so that our position was determined by 
dead reckoning. At eight o'clock in the morning the 
navigators reported that we were within a few miles of 
the entrance, but the fog was so dense that nothing 
could be seen four hundred yards away. I had about 
made up my mind to change course and stand off shore, 
when I heard the familiar sound of surf ahead of us. 
We stood on, and in a few minutes made out the light- 
house, which gave us something to run by. In two 
hours we were inside. The fog lifted over the land, 
and we made an excellent run to Manila, where we 
anchored just after daylight, having entered, as Dewey 
did, in the dark. The cruisers followed the next day, 
having made a most successful full-speed run to test 
their engines. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

FROM HONG KONG TO NEW YORK 

Once more back at our unsavoury anchorage in 
Manila Bay, we lost no time in preparing for the target 
practice that was to show the result of our long and 
faithful training. I called on Governor Taft at once, 
but found him far from well. He was suffering from a 
stomach trouble, brought on, no doubt, by the intense 
heat and the amount of work he was compelled to do. 
The question of settling for the church property in the 
Philippines was up for discussion and final adjustment, 
and this gave the governor great concern. The Papal 
delegate, Monsignore Guidi, did me the honour to call on 
me, showed great interest in my flagship and her men, 
and afterwards invited me to dine with him, which I 
did in company with Governor Taft, General Davis, 
and other distinguished men. I have never in my life 
tasted such Italian wine as was served on his table, 
except that used by the Duke of Abruzzi during the 
visit of the Italian ships to the Jamestown Exposition. 
When the church question had been finally settled the 
Filipinos understood pretty well what Monsignore Guidi 
thought of them. As he expressed it to me, " They are 
to be regarded as children in church matters as well as 
in statecraft." 

A target range was laid out in Manila Bay, and for 
299 



An Admiral's Log 

several weeks nothing was done or thought of except 
target firing. While one ship was on the range the 
others were anchored so that officers and men could see 
the effect of the firing. While the spirit of rivalry ran 
high, every ship that made a good score was generously 
applauded by all the others. My flag lieutenant, Chapin, 
was chief umpire for all the firing, and witnessed every 
shot fired by the fleet. Every possible precaution was 
taken against accidents of all kinds, and not a single 
man was seriously hurt during the practice. Lieutenant 
Evans, aide on my staff, served as target umpire during 
the entire practice. He not only counted the hits, but 
repaired all targets, which, owing to the heavy sea at 
times experienced, was most difficult and dangerous 
work. Wet to the skin most of the time, and with 
hands and face blistered by the sun, he pluckily stuck to 
his job until the last shot had been fired. The new Mer- 
ritt sights gave great satisfaction, and I immediately 
ordered them fitted to all turret guns where this had 
not already been done. After the firing was completed, 
it was thought that the Kentucky had won the battle- 
ship trophy, but later it was found, in Washington, that 
the coveted prize went to the Oregon by a very close 
margin. It certainly reflected great credit on the offi- 
cers and men of that ship to win, handicapped as they 
were in many ways. The firing of all ships was excel- 
lent, when we consider that they had just completed 
an ocean run such as never before attempted by the 
vessels of any other navy. It must also be considered, 
in making up the account, that most of the training of 
gun pointers had been done at sea in rough water. 

Many reports by able officers or boards of officers 
300 



Importance of Olongapo 

had been sent to Washington showing the importance 
of estabhshing a fine naval station at Olongapo, in 
Subig Bay, about fifty miles from Manila. The Span- 
iards had recognised the value of the location by mak- 
ing it their main naval station in the islands. They 
were removing the machinery from Cavite to the new 
buildings at Olongapo when the war came on and we 
took possession. Many of the buildings, which were 
of fine construction and design, were badly damaged by 
our gun fire, but we patched them up and managed to 
use them, hoping that Congress would give us money 
for a complete plant. The money, however, has never 
been appropriated, and we are as far from a naval sta- 
tion in the East now as we were a month after Manila 
was captured. The same influence is always at work to 
keep the station at Cavite — it succeeded with the Span- 
iards, and, so far, it has succeeded with us. The peo- 
ple of Manila want the money the station brings rather 
than have it spent at Olongapo. Practically all the 
commanders-in-chief who have looked carefully into the 
subject have recommended Olongapo. One of them 
was frank enough to say, " Olongapo is unquestionably 
the place for the station, but I hope it will not be estab- 
lished there until I am relieved ! " The attractions of 
the Army and Navy Club at Manila and the pleasures 
of social life in the city are in strong contrast with the 
isolation of Olongapo, and they have undoubtedly had 
their effect. Finally, the opinion of officers of the army 
to the efifect that they cannot defend Subig Bay against 
an enemy with less than one hundred thousand men 
seems to have settled the question, and if we have any 
naval base in the East, it must be near Manila, where it 

301 



An Admiral's Log 

will necessarily be exposed to fire in case of war. We 
are not assured that the army can defend Manila with 
one hundred thousand men, or, indeed, any other port 
in the Philippines. And yet the opinions of able naval 
men about a naval station are set aside and their advice 
not taken when they assert, without serious contradic- 
tion, that no power can hold Manila Bay with an enemy 
in possession of Subig Bay. It is Santiago and Guan- 
tanamo over again. W'hen Sampson occupied Guan- 
tanamo the fate of Santiago was decided. 

I received cable instructions when I returned to 
Manila, to examine Olongapo and see if a suitable site 
could be found for a coal depot to contain one hundred 
and twenty-five thousand tons of coal. This was done 
immediately by imposing much extra work on officers 
who were engrossed with their target practice, and full 
reports, with plan drawings, sent to the Navy Depart- 
ment. After years of waiting, the depot was built, and 
we have that much of a naval station at least. One or 
two more scares over war with Japan or some other 
nation may bring the rest of it. We seem to realise our 
necessities more keenly under threat, but it costs more 
in the end. 

As the end of January came it was plain to all that 
war between Russia and Japan was a question of days 
only. We had one vessel, one gunboat, the Helena, in 
mid dock at Newchwang, frozen in so completely that 
it was impossible to move her, and another, the Vicks- 
burg, at Chemulpo, where she had gone with a trans- 
port to land one hundred marines for the protection of 
our legation at Seoul. All the other vessels were in 
Manila except the station ships at Canton and Shang- 

302 



Russian Activities at Newchwang 

hai and the two small gunboats on river service in 
China. A report came that the Russians were forcibly 
detaining an American ship at Port Arthur, and to 
verify this and give proper protection I sent Admiral 
Cooper with the cruiser division to Shanghai. I di- 
rected him to proceed to Port Arthur with his flagship 
and report to me and to the Navy Department the 
exact conditions he might find. At the same time I 
wired Washington, and in return received an order not 
to send any vessel of the fleet north of Shanghai ! Ad- 
miral Cooper was intercepted and sent to Shanghai, but 
before he arrived there another order came by wire to 
send a suitable vessel to cruise between Chefoo and 
Chemulpo to keep in touch with our minister to Korea 
in case the cables were cut. It looked to us on the spot 
as if Washington was getting things a bit mixed up! 
We had a vessel at Chemulpo — in fact, two of them, 
one a transport — but I immediately sent another, and 
did all in my power to carry out the wishes of the De- 
partment as far as I knew them. 

In the meantime our gunboat at Newchwang became 
an object of deep interest. The commanding officer 
wired me that the Russian authorities had decided to 
block the channel, and for that purpose had loaded one 
hundred junks with stone and would sink them in a few 
days. Newchwang was a Chinese treaty port open to 
the commerce of the world, and China was not at war 
with either Russia or Japan ! One of our national ves- 
sels was in the port, lawfully there, and our commer- 
cial interests were great. If the channel should be 
blocked w^ith stone-laden vessels, the Helena would be 
rendered useless and our commercial interests seriously 

303 



An Admiral's Log 

hampered. I therefore wired the captain of the He- 
lena : " Newchwang treaty port ; channel must not be 
obstructed." This message was, of course, shown to 
our consul, and its purport became known to the Rus- 
sians. I received great abuse from their newspapers, 
but they hesitated to sink the stone barges, and eventu- 
ally gave up the idea. Whether my message had any 
influence with them I have no means of knowing. Of 
course, I wired Washington what I had done. Three 
days elapsed, and then came this answer : 

" Neither force nor threat of force must be used to 
prevent the blocking of the channel to Newchwang." 

The moment the ice could be broken I had the 
Helena relieved from her dangerous position. 

On the 8th of February the war cloud burst, and 
Russia and Japan found themselves entered on a strug- 
gle the like of which has not been seen in modern times. 
The first act in the drama was startling. By it the 
world was shown a new method of opening hostilities. 
A Japanese admiral, before a declaration of war, sent a 
note to the captain of a Russian cruiser lying in a neu- 
tral port telling him that unless he left his anchorage 
before a certain hour he would sink him ! The proposi- 
tion was so startling, so new, so at variance with cus- 
tom and international law, that men did not believe it 
was serious until the result of the fight that followed a 
few hours later was flashed over the wire. The Rus- 
sian cruiser Variag and the" gunboat Koritz were an- 
chored in the harbour of Chemulpo, Korea. At the 
same time, in the same harbour, in close proximity to 
these, were anchored one American gunboat and one 
transport, one English cruiser, one French cruiser, and 

304 



Japan Begins War 

one German cruiser, so that the harbour was fairly well 
crowded with war vessels of various nations — all these 
under treaty rights in a neutral port. The Japanese 
squadron, composed of a number of cruisers, anchored 
eight or ten miles down the river below Round Island, 
and from that point the admiral sent a torpedo boat 
with an officer bearing the note above mentioned to the 
captain of the Variag. Why these Russian ships were 
left in a river from which they could not possibly escape 
when war came, and why Japan deliberately violated 
the neutrality of Korea, are questions for some one else 
to answer. They are not pertinent to my story, nor do 
I know what advice, if any, was given to the captain of 
the Variag when he showed the note to the other cap- 
tains. He did not consult the American captain, so far 
as I am informed, but what actually took place we know 
all about. It would have been most instructive for na- 
val men to know what would have happened if the Rus- 
sian captain had simply " called the Japanese bluff," for 
such we must regard it, and remained quietly at his 
anchorage among the foreign fleet without making any 
answer to the note! It may be doubted that the Jap- 
anese would have fired a single shot at him under such 
conditions. 

When the torpedo boat had disappeared on her re- 
turn to the Japanese squadron, the Variag was cleared 
for action, got under way, and steamed toward the Jap- 
anese squadron, which was drawn up In battle forma- 
tion. A short, sharp engagement followed, and the 
Variag, severely punished by Japanese shells, returned 
to her anchorage, badly listed to port and on fire aft. 
Many of her officers and men had been killed and a 

305 



\ 



An Admiral's Log 

large number of them wounded. As soon as her anchor \ 
was down, her captain asked that his crew might be 
taken on board the various foreign ships, and that the 
captain of the Enghsh cruiser would fire a few shells 
through the bottom of the Variag in order that she 
would surely sink before the Japanese could capture 
her ! The English captain declined to fire, as requested, 
but the crew was taken off by him, assisted by the 
French and German vessels. The American captain 
offered medical aid and assistance, but declined to re- 
ceive any of the crew on board, on the ground that 
Chemulpo was a neutral port, and that the Russian 
wounded could be cared for in the hospitals on shore 
and the well men looked after by the Russian minister. 
This position was so evidently right and sound that it 
met with the prompt approval of the commander-in- 
chief, and afterwards the home government. 

The sea valves of the Variag were opened, and she 
sank shortly after the crew had been removed. When 
she took the bottom she turned over on one side, and 
remained in that position until the Japanese raised 
her, two years later, and transferred her to their flag. 
The Koritz was set on fire and, after burning a 
short time, her magazine exploded, completely destroy- 
ing her. 

On the following morning, February 9th, some time 
before sunrise, the Japanese torpedo boats attacked the 
Russian fleet, anchored in two lines off Port Arthur. 
Most of the Russian officers were on shore at a ball, 
still maintaining, I suppose, that Japan was afraid to 
attack them. The torpedo attack, though well planned 
and gallantly executed, resulted in little serious harm 

306 



Homeward Bound 

to the fleet. Three ships were so damaged between 
the torpedoes and the rocks on which they were run 
in the confusion following the attack that they were 
out of commission for a short time, but they were all 
repaired and ready when again called on for service, 
which I think conclusively proves two things : first, that 
the torpedo failed to do what its admirers had claimed 
for it, and, second, that the Russian workmen who did 
the repair work were excellent mechanics, or they could 
not have accomplished so much with the tools they had. 
The torpedo established a record for inefficiency which 
it maintained to the end of the war. Early in the 
month of March orders came for me to turn over the 
command of the station to Admiral Cooper in April, 
and then return in my flagship to New York. I left 
Manila during the latter part of May for Hong Kong, 
where the Kentucky was placed in dock, had her bottom 
cleaned and painted, and such repairs made as were nec- 
essary for the run home. In order that the Department 
might learn the speed a division of battleships could 
make, I ordered that the voyage home should be made 
as nearly as possible at the speed a squadron of such 
ships could maintain over the same route. When all 
was in readiness I transferred the command, as directed, 
and got under way for Colombo, in the island of Cey- 
lon. Rear-Admiral Yates Sterling succeeded to the 
command of the cruiser squadron, and another flag offi- 
cer was ordered to the Philippine division. 

The run to Colombo was made without stopping at 
Singapore. In the straits of Malacca we passed during 
the night the division of United States torpedo-boat de- 
stroyers on its way from New York to Manila, con- 

307 



An Admiral's Log 

voyed by the transport Buffalo. They seemed in good 
condition after their long cruise, and eventually arrived 
at their destination, where they have since been held 
ready for service. 

It is scarcely possible to imagine a smoother sea 
than we had on this run. The monsoon had not yet 
shown any force, and I am sure one could have made 
the trip in a shell boat, so far as the sea was concerned. 
On arrival at Colombo, coal was taken in at once and 
the men given liberty. 

After making the necessary official calls and looking 
through the shops, I ran up to Kandy, one of the most 
beautiful trips in the world. Aside from the beauty of 
the scenery, I was greatly interested in the tea farms 
from which Sir Thomas Lipton furnishes tea to the 
world. The railroad, which gradually climbs to an ele- 
vation of six thousand feet, is one of the most wonder- 
ful ever constructed. At one point the train on which 
we were travelling stopped on a shelf of rock while we 
enjoyed for a few moments the view from the car win- 
dows. The rocky mountain rose sheer four thousand 
feet, so abruptly that a stone dropped from our position 
would land in the valley below. So far as one could 
see, there was one vast tea farm covering the entire 
country. At Kandy we found very comfortable quar- 
ters at an inn on the borders of a fine artificial lake, 
which furnished a plentiful water supply to the town. 
Some distance below the lake there was a large pool 
where the sacred elephants were taken for their daily 
bath, when those so disposed could view the herd of 
great beasts as they enjoyed their frolic. One object of 
special interest in Kandy is the tooth of Buddha. I 

308 



In Ceylon 

gave little time to this fraud, but hurried off to the 
botanical garden, the finest probably in the world, con- 
taining, as it does, every variety of shrub or tree of the 
tropic and temperate zones. I spent hours among the 
most gorgeous and beautiful flowers I had ever seen. 
The trees were of intense interest, among them every 
variety, from the deadly upas to the one from which 
cocaine is made. There were fine specimens of all the 
spice trees known in the tropics and many of the hard- 
wood varieties. 

At the inn we enjoyed all the usual luxuries of the 
East Indies — curries and spiced dishes for dinner, and 
in the evening the inevitable snake charmer with his 
hideous trained cobra. During the day we were beset 
by the gang of jewel merchants who live on the lamb- 
like globe trotters. They offered beautiful stones at ex- 
orbitant sums, but, finding that we had been in the East 
before, they came down in their prices from pounds 
sterling to shillings for the glass trinkets which at first 
were rubies or diamonds. 

On my return to Colombo I visited some of the 
beautiful shops where real gems are sold. In one of 
them I saw a bowl of pearls emptied out on a piece of 
velvet to show their beauty. The contents of the bowl 
were valued at a little over one million dollars! I had 
no money to invest in pearls, but I certainly did enjoy 
seeing them, without the least envy for the more for- 
tunate ones who could own them. At one shop I was 
shown the latest find in the way of a valuable pearl. 
The pearl-oyster business in Ceylon leads to consider- 
able gambling in an innocent way. The oysters, after 
being gathered, are brought into market and sold, after 
21 309 



An Admiral's Log 

which they are examined for pearls. Persons so dis- 
posed buy them, as they would buy lottery tickets, for 
the chance of finding something valuable. A native boy 
had spent all the small change he had in buying a few 
oysters at a time, but for a long time found no pearls of 
value. Just before we arrived, having a few cents in 
hand, he had bought two oysters. The first one he 
opened contained the pearl shown me. It was perfectly 
round, of exquisite lustre, and valued at ten thousand 
dollars ! The boy was educated in pearls, and only gave 
up his find on the payment of eight thousand dollars! 
It would be interesting to trace the subsequent history 
of this lad to see if he becomes a *' pearl king," after the 
fashion of some of our mining " kings " who made 
their first " strike " in the same lucky fashion. 

From Colombo to Port Said we had delightful 
weather, very hot in the Red Sea, but with no gales to 
bother us. The passage through the Suez Canal was 
successfully made without any injury from grounding 
or collision. After the first few hours it became monot- 
onous, and we were glad when the Mediterranean 
showed blue in the distance. When we had coaled and 
bought as many curios as we thought the customs 
ofiicers would allow us to land at New York, we 
left the coast of Egypt and arrived at Naples on April 
23d. 

Passing through the straits of Messina, which have 
since witnessed the destruction of a beautiful Italian 
city and the greatest loss of life ever caused by an earth- 
quake, I was struck with the wonderful force of the 
current. At times it was all the powerful engines of 
the Kentucky could do to keep her on her course. She 

310 



Arrival at Naples 

yawed and reeled about like a drunken ship, but she 
finally pulled through without accident. How different 
must have been the conditions surrounding St. Paul 
when in this locality he performed that wonderful piece 
of seamanship, " anchoring by the stern ship," as de- 
scribed in the Acts of the Apostles! As we passed 
Stromboli, that veteran in the earthquake world was 
growling and smoking, occasionally throwing masses 
of stones and ashes into the air. The sides of the 
mountain were beautifully cultivated where the lava 
would allow vines to grow, and the inhabitants of the 
villages about its base seemed to be following their avo- 
cations without fear of danger. 

Our trip to Naples was for the purpose of obtaining 
coal, which was cheaper there than at any other con- 
venient point. I was surprised, on anchoring at seven 
o'clock on the morning of April 29th, to find myself in 
the presence of a large assemblage of warships. The 
officer who boarded us informed me that the Italian 
and French fleets were assembled in honour of the Presi- 
dent of France, who was present as the guest of the 
King of Italy, and that the two rulers would review 
them at ten o'clock that morning. 

Feeling that I might be unwelcome at such a mo- 
ment, I explained that nothing was known of the visit 
of the President when I left the canal, and that I would 
go to sea at once until after the ceremony, if so desired. 
I was informed that we were very welcome, and that 
the minister of marine and the admiral commanding 
hoped I would join in the festivities. 

The Kentucky was given a berth next the French 
flagship. We dressed ship at eight o'clock, and there- 

311 



An Admiral's Log 

after followed the motions of the French admiral. At 
ten o'clock a fine new Italian battleship came out from 
the inner harbour, flying the French flag at one mast 
head and the Italian at the other. Then the guns began 
to boom, and for more than an hour it sounded as if a 
battle were being fought. The reviewing party twice 
passed the Kentucky, and each time a superb band 
played our national air, while hundreds of glasses in- 
spected us. Our band played first the French and then 
the Italian national airs, and officers and men in full 
dress saluted and stood at attention until the next ship 
in the line saluted. When the review was over, the Presi- 
dent boarded one of his own ships, and the French fleet 
got under way and sailed for home. During the after- 
noon the Kentucky was moored in the inner harbour 
between Sir Thomas Lipton's yacht, the Erin, and the 
King's yacht, the battleship Regina Margarita. Coal 
lighters were taken alongside and all preparations made 
for coaling. After the inevitable round of calls, I was 
at liberty to go on shore for one of the best dinners I 
ever enjoyed. 

About eleven o'clock the next day, while coaling 
from lighters on both sides, and with the coal dust so 
thick that one could hardly breathe, an officer in full 
dress came alongside and said that the King was coming 
to visit me. I explained that we were in the midst of 
coaling, and asked when his Majesty was coming. 
Much to my surprise, the officer answered, " He is com- 
ing now ; will be here in a few minutes ! " It was one of 
those surprises that some practical rulers like to spring 
on people, that they may see things not shown when 
on dress parade. As the King came alongside, our 

312 



A Visit from the King of Italy 

men dropped the coal whips and stood at attention. I 
explained the situation and asked to be excused for the 
appearance of my ship, to which his Majesty rephed 
that he was most anxious to see just how we took in 
coal so rapidly, and in turn asked me to excuse him for 
coming at such a time. He wanted to see everything 
in the ship, and he did. There was not a thing that 
escaped his keen eyes, from the bayonet scabbards of 
the marines to the superimposed turrets. After a most 
thorough inspection, he expressed great admiration for 
the Kentucky and took his departure. Two days later 
I dined with his Majesty in the palace at Naples, where 
I met many distinguished men, among them the marine 
artist Martino, who so graciously decorated my menu 
cards years before when I was giving a dinner to his 
Majesty the Emperor of Germany, The dinner was, of 
course, excellent in every way, particularly in the wines. 
The only lasting impression on my mind is about the 
toothpicks, which were served when the cloth was re- 
moved. It was the first time I had ever seen this done 
at a state dinner. They were medically treated with 
some chemical which coloured one-half the pick black, 
and were served in their paper envelopes, bearing the 
royal coat of arms. I was unfavourably impressed 
with the number of guards we had to pass on our way 
from the palace until we were received by the King, 
There were three, I think, before we left our carriage, 
and then one on each floor as we ascended to the recep- 
tion room, which was in one of the upper stories. On 
asking some question about it, I was told that the King 
was very democratic and did not approve of the guards, 
but that it was considered necessary to have them, 

2^3 



An Admiral's Log 

though both he and the Queen were very popular with 
the people. At times his Majesty would elude them 
and take long walks by himself or with some chosen 
companion. 

The day after leaving Naples we had a good look 
at the British fleet, which was having manceuvres about 
the Island of Corsica. We came upon them entirely by 
accident just after daylight, and could not avoid seeing 
what they were doing. I passed close enough to the 
commander-in-chief to exchange salutes with him and 
count his twenty-four battleships and two divisions of 
cruisers. They made a very fine appearance, but the 
cruisers were rolling so badly that their gun fire would 
not have proved very destructive, while they ex- 
posed their under-water bodies to an alarming extent. 
We watched them with longing eyes, and wondered 
if we might ever see such a fleet under our own dear 
flag. 

A stop of two days was made at Gibraltar, and then 
we ran down to Madeira, filled up with coal, and started 
for a record run to New York. For a few days we 
averaged about fifteen knots, then the sea became so 
heavy that I had to slow to twelve knots to prevent 
washing everything off the forward bridge. The sea 
soon moderated, however, and we again made our best 
speed. On arrival in New York we found that we had 
the record for battleships — none had ever before made 
such good time for so long a distance. With the ex- 
ception of a broken cylinder ring, which delayed us two 
hours and a half after leaving Madeira, not an accident 
of any kind had marred the trip from Hong Kong. 

When we arrived it was the intention of the Depart- 
314 



Home Again 

ment to place the Kentucky out of commission, but an 
inspection showed that this was not necessary, though 
a number of repairs were required to keep her in serv- 
ice. These were made, and the ship served until the 
summer of 1909 before she was placed in reserve. 



CHAPTER XXV 

IN COMMAND OF NORTH ATLANTIC SQUADRON 

Early in June I was relieved from sea duty and 
again ordered to the Lighthouse Board. I was imme- 
diately elected chairman of the board, and took up the 
duties which were, next to going to sea, my choice. 
The Lighthouse establishment has always been a branch 
of the Treasury Department, but during my absence 
in the East this had been changed, and it was now a 
part of the newly organised Department of Com- 
merce and Labour. Mr. Metcalf, formerly a member 
of Congress from California, was its Secretary. He 
afterwards became Secretary of the Navy for a time 
during the last half of Mr. Roosevelt's term as 
President. 

When I received orders to the Lighthouse Board I 
expected to remain on that duty for at least three years. 
I had just completed the usual command of two years 
for an admiral afloat. It was, therefore, reasonable to 
assume that I would not again be called on for sea serv- 
ice, and on this assumption I settled down to my new 
duties, taking up many things in which I was deeply 
interested. I was again impressed with the dignity and 
responsibility of the position I was given. There is no 
other position a naval officer can hold on shore which, 
with so much useful work, gives opportunity for so 

316 



Another Sea Command 

much pleasure. My intention was to remain as chair- 
man of the board until I retired — even longer if I might 
be permitted to do so. 

In December, 1904, rumours reached me that I was 
to have another sea command. I paid no attention to 
these reports for a time, but they were so persistent that 
I asked the chief of the Bureau of Navigation if he 
could tell me what they amounted to. His reply was 
that it was his intention to ask the President to order 
me to command the North Atlantic Squadron, unless I 
seriously objected. No flag officer can " seriously ob- 
ject " to a command afloat with safety to his reputation. 
I informed the chief that I was subject to the orders of 
the Secretary of the Navy, that I never sought orders, 
and never declined nor hesitated to obey them when 
received. A few days later the Secretary, Mr. Paul 
Morton, sent for me. He said that the President had 
spoken of giving me the command of the home squad- 
ron, and asked if I would like to have it. Of course, I 
replied that nothing would suit me better, and that I 
should consider it a great honour. This settled the mat- 
ter, and I was directed later to proceed to Pensacola, 
Florida, and on March 28th relieve Rear-Admiral 
Barker of his command. This ended my connection 
with the Lighthouse Board, for I knew that when my 
turn again came for shore duty I should be on the 
retired list. 

Long before my orders were actually issued I began 
my search for suitable staff officers. My new duties 
I knew would be more exacting than any I had be- 
fore performed, and I was sure they would steadily 
increase with the growth of the fleet. New battleships 

317 



An Admiral's Log 

were being rapidly constructed, and would be added to 
the North Atlantic Squadron as fast as completed. 

Captain J. E. Pillsbury, Assistant to the chief of the 
Bureau of Navigation, was selected as chief of my staff. 
No officer in the navy had a better reputation than he, 
and I was most fortunate in securing his detail. He 
served his full term with me, and I am safe in saying 
that the fine condition of the squadron was due in great 
measure to his untiring efforts and devotion to duty. 
For flag secretary, a most difficult post to fill and the 
most confidential on the staff, I secured the services of 
Lieutenant-Commander Carlos B. Brittain, who had 
been the ordnance officer of the Kentucky in the East. 
He was admirably fitted for the work, combining, as he 
did, excellent judgment with a cordial manner, which 
went far toward smoothing over the rough path he 
sometimes had to follow. His loyalty to me and inter- 
est in my success were equalled only by his conscien- 
tiousness as an officer and his efforts for efficiency. 
Everything pointed to Lieutenant-Commander Mark 
Bristol as fleet ordnance officer if I could secure him in 
that capacity. He was on duty in the Ordnance De- 
partment, where he had had long service, and was at 
the time in charge of the torpedo branch. I succeeded 
eventually in having him ordered, and the excellent 
work he afterwards did showed the wisdom of my 
choice. Lieutenant Crosley, a young officer of fine rep- 
utation, was selected for flag lieutenant, and did excel- 
lent work until succeeded by Lieutenant Ridley Mc- 
Lean, who had served with me in China. His fine work 
on the gun sights of the Kentucky and his general 
knowledge of ordnance rendered him a most valuable 

318 



Arrival at Pensacola 

assistant. He afterwards became fleet ordnance offi- 
cer, and in that capacity rendered service which in any 
other navy would have secured for him promotion in 
rank. Two fine young officers, Lieutenants Weaver 
and Crafts, were selected — the former for fleet athletic 
officer and the latter for aide and signal officer. 

With this staff of excellent assistants, I left Wash- 
ington for Pensacola, feeling sure that many thorns 
would be removed from my path by their aid and loy- 
alty. The railroad trip to the south was a hard, dusty 
one, and we arrived at our destination early in the 
morning, tired and very hungry. We entered the din- 
ing-room of the uninviting-looking tavern with happy 
thoughts of delicious tropical fruits and dainty south- 
ern breakfast foods. One of the party called the head 
waiter and said : 

" What fruits have you ? " 

" 'Tain't no fruits ! How will you have yo' eggs ? " 
was the reply, and eggs were what we had for break- 
fast! And those eggs must have been laid by some 
peculiar kind of a bird, judging by their taste. Even in 
China I never encountered any like them. We were 
also served with a black fluid they called coffee, and it 
also was in a class by itself. Our breakfast proved a 
most disappointing failure. We left the hotel, hoping 
to find something fit to eat on board the flagship, in 
which we were not disappointed. 

The squadron had been engaged in evolutions in the 
West Indies during the winter, and had just arrived at 
Pensacola for target practice and to give liberty to the 
men. The target range off the port had been estab- 
lished, and two ships were firing at it. The other ships 

319 



An Admiral's Log 

of the squadron, six battleships and a few cruisers, were 
anchored in the harbour. 

I had selected the battleship Maine for my flagship, 
and requested her captain to have a boat at the landing 
at eight o'clock to meet me and take us, with our bag- 
gage, on board. When we drove down into the narrow, 
tumbledown-looking dock, I was so shocked and dis- 
heartened by what I saw that I felt as if I must at once 
retrace my steps to Washington and tell the Secretary 
that I did not want the command of the North Atlantic 
Squadron! Two or three hundred liberty men were 
being taken off to their ships, most of them under the 
influence of liquor, and many of them howling, swear- 
ing drunk. All the " tough " class, men and women, 
black and white, for many miles round Pensacola had 
assembled there to make the bluejackets enjoy them- 
selves and to secure the money they knew would be 
freely spent. There were no places of amusement for 
the men to frequent — nothing, in fact, for them to do; 
so they fell easy victims to the gang of thieves. Of 
course, there were no quarters in the town for so many 
disreputable newcomers, and many of them actually 
lived in tents pitched on vacant lots about the lower 
parts of the town. In all my experience I had never 
seen anything to compare with my first view of the 
men I was about to take under my command ! 

Two perfectly legitimate and proper influences had 
combined to bring the fleet to Pensacola, and neither 
of them was responsible for the disreputable condition 
found existing on my arrival. The merchants and 
tradesmen knew how freely sailors spend their money, 
and they wanted what they could get of it. The gen- 

320 



An Unsatisfactory Station 

tlemen and ladies of the city wanted to entertain the 
officers and to enjoy their society. Both classes were 
actuated by motives which no one could question, and 
both were thoroughly disgusted at conditions which 
they were apparently helpless to change. The trades- 
men were reasonable in the prices they charged our 
men, and I know of my own personal knowledge that 
the hospitality of the people of the city to our officers 
was without bounds. I feel sure that no officers of any 
navy, under any circumstances, were ever more royally 
entertained than were those of the North Atlantic 
Squadron by the warm-hearted people of Pensacola. 
Yet, notwithstanding all this, I made up my mind that, 
if I could prevent it, the ships should never anchor in 
that harbour again. 

The city was not adapted to liberty for the kind of 
men we want in the navy — that is to say, not for any 
considerable number of them at one time; it could not 
absorb them or give them any reasonable pleasure for 
their money. We might land twenty thousand men in 
New York city and after two hours be unable to find 
a dozen of them, but if we landed two hundred in Pen- 
sacola one hundred and fifty of them would always be 
in evidence one way or another. In the one case there 
were various and ample forms of amusement and in 
the other none. The police of the southern town 
either were not competent to deal with the bluejackets 
or their own disreputable " toughs," and all the better 
class of citizens knew this to be the case. 

The trouble was not due to the people of Pensacola, 
who only tried to get what they thought they were enti- 
tled to, without considering or foreseeing the conditions 

321 



An Admiral's Log 

that would follow. The trouble really was in the Navy 
Department, where officials allowed themselves to be 
persuaded by senators and representatives into doing 
what a little thought would have shown them would 
lead to undesirable consequences. The congressmen 
were right, from their standpoint, in taking the action 
they did in behalf of their constituents. The Navy De- 
partment was absolutely wrong in yielding to such 
demands unless it could be shown that the service bene- 
fited by it; that it was the best that could be done for 
us. It would have been at once apparent to any one 
who gave the subject serious consideration that a better 
target range than the one in use off Pensacola could be 
found ; and yet we continued to use this one. Why did 
we do so? It must have been for some other reason 
than for target practice. Was it because the city of 
Pensacola was a suitable place to grant liberty to our 
men? I think I have shown that this was not the 
case. Was it not that the merchants and tradesmen of 
the city might make a certain sum of money out of the 
men of the fleet? And if this was the reason for 
sending the ships there, why not be honest about it and 
say so? 

Target practice off Pensacola was completed about 
the middle of April. The results obtained were satis- 
factory with regard to rapidity and accuracy of fire with 
most of the guns, but the means used in many cases 
were lamentably poor and inefficient. This was particu- 
larly the case with the gun sights; they were in the 
same unsatisfactory condition as those in China in 1903. 
A careful inspection of the ships showed that good 
scores had been made in some cases by securing the 

322 



New Gun Sights 

sights with twine and seaHng wax, so that they could 
not jump out of adjustment after each shot. When 
this was not done, the sights jumped so badly that the 
firing was almost useless so far as any practical benefit 
was concerned. Lost motion in the training gears was 
so great that constant aim was impossible. Everything 
possible was done to correct this, but a fault in design 
could not be overcome on board ship, no matter how 
clever the men might be; the necessary tools and ma- 
terial were not at hand for such work. Officers and 
men were enthusiastic in their efforts, but they could 
not be expected to continue so under such discouraging 
conditions. 

Lieutenant-Commander Bristol set to work at once 
on a new design for gun sights, and when we reached 
New York, a few months later, plans were ready for 
approval. The chief of ordnance, Rear-Admiral Mason, 
one of my old captains in China, and one of the ablest 
men who ever filled the office, was fully alive to the 
importance of the work, but willingness is one thing 
and ability to do quite another. New sights for ships 
not yet completed could be made in the Washington 
Navy Yard and held in readiness for them, but to fit 
sights to all the guns of eight battleships in commis- 
sion and have them ready for the next target practice 
was quite a different proposition. I was satisfied from 
my experience in the East that it could be successfully 
done only if proper methods were pursued; if a lot of 
red tape could be cut away. In this my fleet ordnance 
officer concurred. A contract was entered into with 
the Bliss Company, of Brooklyn, a very reliable firm, 
who agreed to do the work in a certain time under the 

323 



An Admiral's Log 

general direction and supervision of Lieutenant-Com- 
mander Bristol. 

Government vi'ork by contract is rarely completed on 
time, because the penalty clause of the contract is not 
enforced, as a rule. It is sometimes done by the head 
of a department, but the money so held up is always 
paid eventually. Congress discovers some good reason 
for the delay, votes the necessary money, and the con- 
tractor escapes without punishment. The case of our 
gun sights was not an exception. We did all we could 
to expedite the work, we begged and pleaded, even used 
strong language, but to no purpose. When we sailed 
for the West Indies in November, only a portion of the 
guns had the new sights furnished ; most of them were 
in a partially completed condition. We took to sea 
with us thirty men from the contractor's shops, who 
worked night and day, assisted by the well-trained me- 
chanics of the ships. Just one week before the squad- 
ron went onto the target range the last of the sights 
was tested and found right. The work done by the 
fleet ordnance officer during all this time was enough to 
break down half a dozen ordinary men, but fortunately 
he was not one of the breaking-down kind. 

The torpedo boats and destroyers I found in unsat- 
isfactory condition. This was particularly the case 
with the flotilla of destroyers attached to the squadron. 
Officers and men were discouraged because they were 
not allowed to perform their proper functions as de- 
stroyers. They had been used as despatch and mail 
boats to carry messages or mails to and from the fleet 
and convey soiled linen to and from the laundries, but 
their work as torpedo-boat destroyers had been sadly 

324 



Departure from Pensacola 

neglected. Their contract speed was from twenty-five 
to thirty knots, and they were kept cruising at about 
ten, so that no one knew just how fast they could steam 
or whether their engine-room forces were efficient or 
otherwise. As soon as I could take the matter up, I 
ordered the mail and laundry business to stop, laid out 
torpedo targets, and started the boats on a course of 
real torpedo work. While convinced that they never 
could in time of war do the wonderful things that had 
been promised for them, I was satisfied that conveying 
mail and washed clothes was not the way to develop 
what they really could do. 

The festivities of Pensacola closed early in May, 
and the squadron sailed for the north. It was the last 
time we were to try target practice in that locality. I 
was soundly abused by the people and press of the city 
for the change that came, but, feeling that I was doing 
the best for the service, I submitted to it in silence. I 
had received the greatest courtesy and kindness from 
the good people of Pensacola, and had for them only 
sentiments of friendship, but I did not consider their 
locality a good one for target practice nor their city a 
suitable place to give liberty to a large number of en- 
listed men, and I acted in accordance with those convic- 
tions. 

The eight battleships composing the squadron passed 
out over the bar without grounding, though some of 
them stirred up the mud. When every one was ready 
I formed them in column three hundred yards apart 
and started north at a speed of twelve knots. The 
usual distance from ship to ship — that is, from the fore- 
mast of one ship to the foremast of the next astern — in 
23 325 



An Admiral's Log 

cruising formation is four hundred yards, but I made it 
three hundred because we had been a long time at an- 
chor, and both officers and men had grown a bit care- 
less. At three hundred yards the squadron was com- 
pact, and with my glasses I could see what was being 
done on each ship. At first I could tell that the officers 
were somewhat nervous, from the way the ships yawed 
about, but this passed away in a few days. The squad- 
ron had been commanded by very able flag officers, and 
the nervousness I speak of was on the part of officers 
who were, either as captains or junior officers, in 
charge of a battleship for the first time in fleet forma- 
tion. A pleasant run of six days, most of the time in 
the Gulf Stream, brought us to our destination. The 
ships were at once distributed to the navy yards where 
they were to be overhauled and made ready for the 
extended drills which were to take place in the late sum- 
mer and autumn. The War College at Newport had 
submitted certain plans to the board, which in turn sent 
them on to me for trial. Of these, for obvious reasons, 
I cannot write. 

The Navy Department was anxious to have fleet 
drills instead of the squadron evolutions which had 
been the custom in our service. I gave my attention to 
the necessary regulations for this, as well as the pro- 
gramme of work to be followed. For fleet work one 
must have a fleet of ships, and this was promised as 
soon as the vessels should be available. Those I had 
were in need of repairs, and work on them was ordered 
at once. 

The question of annual repairs to ships on the home 
station is a most serious and puzzling one. On foreign 

326 



Question of Ship Repairs 

stations it is simple and easily solved. All ships on 
these stations are supposed to be self-supporting, and 
they are so to a great extent; their own mechanics are 
able to do most of the work. If beyond them, it is well 
and cheaply done by contract. The commander-in-chief 
of the home station is constantly urged by the Depart- 
ment to make his ships self-sustaining; it is a favourite 
term, often employed. The bureau chiefs, on the other 
hand, do not wish him to do this, but never say so 
plainly. They hold that unless the ships are sent to the 
yards for repairs every year they cannot have an effi- 
cient working force when called upon, and they cer- 
tainly have reasons on their side of the argument. If 
the commander-in-chief does what he is officially di- 
rected to do, the navy yards run down in efficiency and 
are not in condition to do good, quick work when an 
emergency arises. If the repair work could be done at 
the yards where the ships were built, it would seem to 
do away with this difficulty, but then we should run 
the risk of having the shipyards combine and charge 
unreasonable prices for the work. This may seem, at 
first glance, a reflection on the shipbuilders, but it is 
not really so ; it is only a reflection on business methods. 
If all the armour plants in the country can submit the 
same figures, the same bid to a cent, in reply to adver- 
tisements for armour, why could not shipbuilders do the 
same for repairs? The guessing could be done the 
same in one case as well as in the other. 

So the commander-in-chief must do the repairs to 
the fleet with his own force, and at the same time have 
work enough for the navy yards at least once in each 
year. His lot in this respect is not a happy one. The 

327 



An Admiral's Log 

whole question is a complicated one, not easy of solu- 
tion. We much prefer to do the repair work with our 
own men on board ship when it can be done, for the 
reason that it is more satisfactorily done in this way. 
Long experience has taught us that men who have to 
use machines, who live with them, in fact, are more 
careful and accurate in repairing them than those who 
never work with them. I could cite many cases to 
prove this — cases where lives of men have been placed 
in jeopardy by some careless navy-yard workmen, but 
the yards must be ready in cases of emergency, and to 
have them so the men must have steady employment of 
some kind. 

Eight battleships and six destroyers were ready for 
sea at the end of November, and I sailed with them for 
the West Indies, where I was to remain during the 
winter months. To test the sea endurance of the de- 
stroyers, I kept them with the fleet for the run of sev- 
enteen hundred miles. The weather for the first two 
days was very fine and the sea smooth; then the wind 
shifted into the south-west and blew hard enough to 
kick up quite a rough sea, causing the destroyers to roll 
and pitch and take the water over them in solid masses. 
The battleships were, of course, entirely comfortable 
under such conditions, but the destroyers thrashed 
about until all the new men of their crew^s were use- 
less because of seasickness. To make matters better 
for them, I ordered the destroyers to take station under 
the lea of the big ships and steam along close to them, 
and thus made better weather of it. When we finally 
arrived at our destination all of them were in fairly 
good condition, except one, and her troubles were di- 

328 



At Culebra 

rectly due to careless work at the navy yards where she 
had been repaired. While the boats were ready for 
service after their shaking up, the officers and men 
were ready for a good long rest. They were worn out 
with the discomforts of the trip, and in many cases 
unfit for duty. This will always be the result, in my 
judgment, of a cruise of any considerable length in 
these small vessels. In time of war the excitement and 
danger of the service will keep officers and men keyed 
up, but in times of peace they will not stand much cruis- 
ing in rough water. If they are to keep company with 
the fleet, they must be larger, stronger, and more com- 
fortable for their crews than those we now have. A 
vessel of one thousand tons displacement seems to me 
to be about what we need. 

Our first anchorage was in Target Bay, on the south 
side of the island of Culebra, one of a group we ac- 
quired as a result of the Spanish War. It is only 
eighteen miles from the Danish island of St. Thomas, 
which we have so often tried to purchase because of its 
supposed value as a naval base. The position of Cule- 
bra is such that it could be made to command one of 
the direct passages from the north through the West 
Indies to the Caribbean Sea and the north coast of 
Central America. As a naval base in time of war it 
would be of great practical value if properly fortified 
and provisioned, but, owing to one cause and another, 
nothing has ever been done there except to mount a 
few small guns and accumulate coal enough for the 
gunboats on patrol duty in the West Indies. In its 
present condition, if war should come suddenly — and 
in future it seems probable that wars will come in that 

329 



An Admirals Log 

way — this island would cause us great anxiety, because 
a superior naval force could, and would, seize it and 
make it their base of supplies for operations in the 
West Indies. 

As a point from which to operate cruisers, torpedo 
boats, and submarines, Culebra has advantages over 
any other I know of. There is a landlocked harbour in 
the eastern portion of the island large enough to con- 
tain half a dozen cruisers and all the submarines and 
torpedo boats in the navy. So perfectly protected is 
this harbour that the vessels in it would be safe 
even in the most violent hurricane. The channel 
is a safe one, and from the entrance to the harbour 
there are three safe channels through the reefs to the 
sea, which render a blockade most difficult. By dredg- 
ing a short distance another channel could be made con- 
necting the harbour with Target Bay, which would ren- 
der a blockade practically impossible. A station ship is 
maintained in the inner harbour for the handful of offi- 
cers and men required to look after the coal and other 
government property. Rain water is caught and stored 
in reservoirs for the needs of the two or three hundred 
Spanish fishermen and their families who inhabit the 
island. They fish and raise a few vegetables, among 
them melons of very fine quality. They are governed 
by a chief, appointed by the government of Porto Rico, 
who depends on the naval authorities to keep his flock 
in order and prevent smuggling. Their physical ail- 
ments are looked after by a naval surgeon with a staff 
of hospital attendants. 

With Culebra as our headquarters, we spent a 
month of hard, steady work. I was fortunate in having 

330 



Christmas in the West Indies 

as my second in command Rear-Admiral C. H. Davis, 
who, in addition to being one of the ablest tacticians in 
the navy, had a most attractive personality, which made 
duty with him a pleasure. As many of the captains 
and most of the junior officers had never had any fleet 
work, we had to begin at the very rudiments with them, 
teach them the multiplication table, so to speak, before 
we ventured into the algebra of the profession. Every 
morning the two divisions of four ships each got under 
way, and all day long they drilled and manoeuvred in 
the adjacent waters, which were well adapted to the 
purpose. In the evening they would anchor in Target 
Bay, or during the night exercise with search lights. 
At the end of two weeks the divisions were united and 
drilled as a fleet. In this way much valuable experience 
was gained. Saturdays and Sundays we remained at 
anchor, and as much time as possible was given to 
swimming and athletic exercises. The destroyers were 
given steady work with torpedoes night and day. They 
were also required to develop the possibilities of the 
various channels, so that they might be able to use them 
in case of necessity. 

As Christmas time approached, I divided the squad- 
ron and sent the ships to various ports in the West 
Indies to give shore leave to the crews. The ports of 
St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Barbadoes, and Trinidad were 
chosen as best for the purpose. Nearly half of our men 
were recruits who had never been out of the United 
States, many of them lads from the farms of the middle 
West, and to them the opportunity of seeing a foreign 
port was pleasing. They thoroughly enjoyed their 
Christmas holiday, as did those who benefited by the 

331 



An Admirars Log 

large sums of money the bluejackets spent. The Maine, 
my flagship, went to Trinidad, where the hospitable 
people received us most cordially and made us welcome. 
I ate my Christmas dinner with Governor Jackson and 
his charming family. 

Immediately after Christmas the ships assembled 
at Guantanamo, our naval station on the south-east side 
of Cuba. After the close of the Spanish War the 
United States had acquired this station, which was re- 
garded as of vital importance to our interest in the 
south Atlantic. The Navy Department had made a 
careful survey of the site, and with a small appropria- 
tion from Congress began the construction of a dry 
dock and the erection of a coaling plant. A few small 
frame houses had been built for the accommodation of 
the officers on duty there, and tents put up for the 
marines who guarded the property. The water supply 
was totally inadequate, though there was a fine river 
running through the country only a few miles away. 
Sixty thousand dollars would have given us an ample 
supply of excellent water, but the money was not avail- 
able. Every drop of fresh water for the station came 
from Caimoneira, ten or twelve miles distant, in water 
cars, and was then pumped into a water boat, which 
was towed six miles before it could be distributed for 
consumption ! 

A fine, first-class wireless telegraph station had been 
installed by the Navy Department, which kept up com- 
munication with the world through the station at Key 
West. At night messages came to us regularly and 
with fair accuracy, but in the daytime this station, like 
most other wireless outfits, refused to work, giving al- 

332 



Small-Arm Target Practice 

ways as an excuse the incomprehensible word static, 
which in wireless experience covers a multitude of sins. 
As far as I have been able to discover, the word means 
an atmospheric condition in which Hertzian waves re- 
fuse duty and no messages can be sent through. This 
condition exists always in the daytime, but rarely at 
night. This station also was sorely perplexed by the 
question of water supply. 

The Ordnance Bureau of the Navy Department had 
installed at Guantanamo the finest small-arm target 
range to be found anywhere in the world. It may be 
justly said, I think, that the use of this range enabled 
the men of the navy to outshoot all competitors and 
twice win from the army, the marines, and the militia 
the national trophy. It was here that they received the 
training which placed them in such an enviable position 
among the crack shots of the world. To their credit 
be it remembered that on the cruise of the Atlantic 
Fleet the bluejackets won from the best teams in Aus- 
tralia and Japan. 

One object of our visit to Guantanamo was to use 
this range to its utmost capacity. All day long, from 
sunrise to sunset, despite the mosquitoes, the gnats, and 
the blazing sun, hundreds of men were on the ranges. 
The reports of the Krag-Jorgensens were incessant, re- 
minding one of a battle. As soon as our anchors were 
down all the marines of the fleet were landed and 
camped under canvas in order that they might have 
real training as soldiers, without wasting their time 
with the petty duties which seemed to occupy all their 
time on board ship, and which during their absence were 
easily done by a small detail of bluejackets. The tar- 

333 



An Admiral's Log 

gets were turned over to the marines for a stated 
time each day. After their firing was completed, they 
" hiked " over the country and did other things that 
soldiers are expected to do to produce the conditions of 
efficiency which render them of value in times of war. 
I have never seen more marked improvement in a body 
of men than I observed in this case. It was the story of 
the marines at Subig Bay over again. 

The bluejackets were sent to the targets every day, 
Saturdays and Sundays excepted, until each one had 
qualified on the different ranges. Then teams were 
selected from each ship, and these, after long practice, 
shot for the championship of the squadron. The bat- 
tleship Missouri won after a spirited contest. In the 
meantime the boat guns were used on targets in the har- 
bour, and afterwards, fitted as field pieces for land serv- 
ice, taken on shore and over a fine range did excellent 
work on the targets. In this way we gave the men the 
finest training it was possible for them to have. But to 
do all this work it was necessary to give some time to 
play and recreation ; otherwise all hands would be worn 
out and become discontented. At a fixed hour every 
day work stopped. The men were then landed on the 
beach to swim, play baseball or football, and generally, 
in sea parlance, " stretch their legs." A racing crew 
from each ship was always in training, and races under 
sail, as well as pulling races, were a regular part of the 
exercise of the squadron. While all these sports re- 
quired the hardest kind of physical effort, they were not 
regarded by the men as work, and they took great pleas- 
ure in them. The result of all our efforts was a fine, 
happy, contented lot of men, who reflected great credit 

334 



Seeking A New Target Range 

on their officers and were ready at a moment's notice 
for any service they might be called upon to perform. 

The destroyers were confined to their proper work. 
Drills were constant day and night until they could use 
their weapons with a fair degree of accuracy. Their 
crews had athletic contests among themselves; some 
of them even aspired to the battleship class, where they 
acquitted themselves with credit. Particularly was this 
the case in boat racing. The destroyers did not at that 
time carry power boats, and as a result developed many 
good boat sailors and oarsmen. 

The question of a range for target practice with the 
big guns was a most important one, and one that must 
soon be settled. Those in authority at home had de- 
cided to leave this to me, thus relieving themselves of 
the annoyance of having to answer the questions of 
politicians acting in the interest of their constituents, 
who wanted the ships sent to this place or that. All 
they had to say in such case was that the matter was in 
the hands of the commander-in-chief, that they did not 
know where he proposed to hold the practice, which 
was literally true, because I had not informed them of 
the locality! I was too far away to be reached by the 
politicians, so their constituents amused themselves by 
abusing me in the newspapers, which seemed to satisfy 
them and did not worry me in the least. 

I took advantage of the first Saturday after our ar- 
rival at Guantanamo to look for our new target range. 
In company with the chief of staff and the fleet ord- 
nance officer, I embarked on the tender Yankton and 
ran down to Cape Cruz, on the south side of Cuba, 
where we remained over Sunday, To the westward of 

335 



An Admiral's Log 

Cape Cruz, under the lea of the shoals making out off 
Manzanillo, we found what we were seeking, viz. : a 
large body of smooth water of such depth that ships 
could be conveniently anchored and targets moored. 
The spot selected was ideal for our purpose. The coral 
reefs to windward ensured smooth water, except when 
the wind came from the south-west, which it rarely did 
during the winter season. The prevailing winds were 
from the north and north-east. The shipping entering 
Manzanillo passed at a distance of twenty or twenty-five 
miles either to the east or the west, and interruption 
from this cause was unlikely. A few fishing boats took 
fish on the inside of the reef, and were entirely safe 
from our guns. 

The surveys of this part of the West Indies were 
Spanish, and very unreliable. To ensure the safety of 
the fleet I selected and marked roughly with buoys the 
area we would use, and the Yankton then ran lines of 
soundings to detect shoal water, if any existed. When 
this had been thoroughly done, we returned to Guanta- 
namo and made all necessary preparations for our rec- 
ord target practice. 

Colliers were loaded with coal and sent to the an- 
chorage selected for them inside the reef. The store- 
ship, with fresh provisions, and the water-ship for the 
destroyers were also sent, and the squadron followed, 
spending a few days en route at tactical drills. In the 
meantime a collier had been sent to Pensacola for the 
targets, and when she arrived they were soon in place 
and practice began. For three weeks the firing was 
constant. When it was completed the improvement was 
so marked that we were sure we had won the trophy, 

336 



An Excellent Range 

but in this we were mistaken. We were disappointed 
at not winning the coveted prize, but determined to 
have it the following year, if hard work could make 
it come our way. 

When time permitted I examined the water inside 
the reef, and succeeded in finding an admirable place 
for the small ships and torpedo craft to do their work. 
The spot selected was close to the coral island known 
as Media Luna Cayo (Half Moon Key), so named from 
its crescent shape. Here the crews were perfectly com- 
fortable because of the smooth water, and when not at 
work could catch plenty of fish and large lizards to re- 
plenish their larders. When a careful survey had been 
completed, it was found that any ship in the squadron 
could enter between the reefs and use this target range 
with safety. 

Of all the ranges I have ever used, that to the west 
of Cape Cruz was the most satisfactory. There was 
nothing in sight to attract either officers or men from 
their work at the guns. The only town or city any- 
where near us was Manzanillo, which was thirty-five 
miles away, and with which we had no communication. 
From our firing stations there was nothing in sight but 
water. Here and there the mangroves on the coral 
reefs showed green in the distance, but otherwise we 
were practically at sea. When time permitted, those so 
disposed could find fairly good fishing, but as a rule 
little time was given to this sport, as both officers and 
men were tired enough with their work to sleep during 
any leisure moments. 

It was while anchored in this vicinity, at a later 
date, that we heard of the disaster at San Francisco. 

337 



An Admiral's Log 

My orderly awoke me in the middle of the night to 
hand me a message just picked up by the wireless oper- 
ator on duty on board the flagship. It read : " Bad 
earthquake in San Francisco; city destroyed by fire." 
As we were a thousand miles from the nearest wireless 
station, and because of the improbable character of the 
news received, I requested the wireless operator not to 
disturb me again unless there might be some confirma- 
tion of the message. These operators were always pick- 
ing up wonderful pieces of news which drifted about in 
the air ! A few hours later despatches came giving full 
details of the awful destruction inside the Golden Gate. 
The boundaries of the naval reservation at Guanta- 
namo had been very carefully marked by the Navy De- 
partment — ^first by a path cut through the jungle, and 
then by a substantial wire fence. In the vicinity of the 
proposed dry dock and marine barracks a stone wall 
about seven feet high had been constructed to prevent 
the natives from smuggling rum into the reservation 
and carrying away anything they could lay their hands 
on. We had more trouble on the small-arms target 
range from smuggled rum than from all other causes 
combined. The miserable natives managed to land it 
from boats at night, secrete it in the jungle, and from 
there serve it out to our men, who were invariably made 
crazy, fighting drunk by the vile stuff. After two days' 
search we found the " cache " and destroyed its con- 
tents, consisting of about thirty gallons of newly made 
rum. I gave notice that I would also destroy those 
who owned it if I could lay my hands on them. If we 
could have had a canteen where the men could get beer 
and light wines, under proper restrictions, all this 

338 



The Guantanamo Reservation 

trouble would have been spared us. A wise Congress 
had, however, decreed that we should not have a can- 
teen, and in consequence we had to struggle with a 
much greater evil. 

One look at the reservation as laid out clearly indi- 
cated that we had not taken ground enough. The reser- 
vation was too small for the purpose intended. To the 
eastward and well within the range of a ten-inch gun 
rises a sharp mountain peak, which we designated as 
" 203 Metre Hill " because of its commanding position ; 
203 Metre Hill, it will be recalled, completely domi- 
nated the defences of Port Arthur and caused the sur- 
render of that fortress when the Japanese had succeeded 
in mounting a few guns thereon. It seemed to me that 
an enemy could land guns at the base of this mountain, 
and in a short time put them in a position from which 
they could destroy everything of value on the reserva- 
tion. That the Navy Department and the general board 
might be fully advised of the situation, I organised a 
board of able officers, with Rear-Admiral Davis at its 
head, to report what should be done in the matter. This 
board went over the ground, climbed the mountains, 
surveyed the sources of water supply, and made an ex- 
haustive report, pointing out the necessity for extending 
the boundaries of the concession to include the high 
point necessary to its proper defence in time of war. 
This report was duly forwarded, and that was the last 
we ever heard of it. The Assistant Secretary of the 
Navy came down later, looked the ground over, and 
approved of what had been done. Later still a com- 
mittee of senators came. After spending one hour in 
the bay, they sailed for Jamaica, deciding that no more 

339 



An Admiral's Log 

money should be spent on Guantanamo, and so the mat- 
ter stands to-day. We cannot do the work without 
money, and Congress will not appropriate any. 

If we had acquired one naval station in the West 
Indies, instead of two, it might have been better for us. 
Congress might have been induced to give the neces- 
sary money for one station, which it has failed to do for 
two. Some officers argue that they woufd not have 
voted money even for one, and cite the case of Manila 
Bay or Olongapo to prove their contention, but it must 
always be remembered that Olongapo is a long way 
from our coast, while Guantanamo and Culebra are 
practically in our back yard. 

It must be regarded as unfortunate that a difference 
of opinion developed among officers of the navy in the 
years following the close of the Spanish War in regard 
to the value of the two places, Culebra and Guanta- 
namo, as sites for a large naval station. Some held that 
Culebra should be developed as our main station, while 
others declared in favour of Guantanamo, with Culebra 
as an advanced base only. This action, or opinion, nat- 
urally had its effect on Congress, whose members 
sought information from naval sources. As a result 
we have no station worthy the name in the West Indies. 
A war scare over our relations with Japan may cause 
us to complete a station somewhere in the vicinity of 
Manila, and likewise such a scare over our relations 
with some European nation, or the threat of some for- 
eign nation to disregard what we please to term the 
Monroe Doctrine, may lead to the same desirable results 
at Guantanamo. As the Panama Canal approaches 
completion, this question of a strong station somewhere 

340 



Culebra and Guantanamo 

on the Caribbean Sea will force itself on Congress more 
strongly than ever, and a solution may be reached. 

At present it can be truthfully said that Guantanamo 
is of vast importance to us as a training station, a posi- 
tion from which, as a safe anchorage, our rapidly grow- 
ing fleet may manoeuvre and drill with the greatest 
possible advantage. Owing to its climate during the win- 
ter months and its excellent small-arms target range, it 
is far ahead of any place on our own coast. It is better 
even than any other place we could select if we were 
given our choice in the matter. Aside from its advan- 
tages as»a drill ground for the fleet, it has great value 
as long as we keep up our present policy of patrolling 
the waters of Hayti and San Domingo and looking 
after the custom-houses of the last-named breeder of 
revolutions. Culebra is also of great value in this con- 
nection, owing to its geographical position. It would 
seem, therefore, that we should hold both places, but to 
make it possible to do so in time of war we should 
provide for their defence. 

Culebra has a few small guns in position; not 
enough, however, to be of any value. At Guantanamo 
the army engineers have selected sites for mortar bat- 
teries and twelve-inch guns, and have finished two bat- 
teries for the defence of the mine fields. One of these 
has six-inch guns, and the other small, rapid firers. 
Congress has refused to appropriate more money, and 
in consequence all work must stop. 



23 



CHAPTER XXVI 

THE SUMMER WORK OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC 
SQUADRON 

Our winter's work having been completed, the 
squadron returned to Hampton Roads in May. In ad- 
dition to the work done with the guns, a great amount 
of tactical exercise had been accomplished, with the 
gratifying result that most of the captains and many 
of the junior officers could maintain position and per- 
form simple evolutions with accuracy. We were learn- 
ing our multiplication table thoroughly before attempt- 
ing higher work. 

Once back in a home port, all the officers who had 
served their time at sea were detached, and others with- 
out fleet experience were ordered in their places. This 
was the case with captains as well as juniors. When 
ready to go to sea, the commander-in-chief found him- 
self compelled to begin again at the beginning so far as 
drills were concerned. The officers who left had ac- 
quired valuable knowledge, but they took it ashore with 
them, and it was necessary to teach the new ones, just 
as the others had been taught. This condition is dis- 
couraging, this constant going over and over the sim- 
plest forms of fleet drill, but it will disappear in a few 
years, when the body of our officers has had sufficient 
service in the fleet. 

342 



Discouraging Work 

While this condition for officers is in sight, the same 
cannot be said for the men. Officers of other navies are 
surprised at what we accomphsh with our crews when 
informed of the way they are suppHed to us. To ex- 
plain this, let me cite a case, say of an English battle- 
ship about to be placed in commission for service. When 
reported ready by the dock-yard officials, her crew is 
marched on board, complete in every respect. The men 
are drawn from receiving ships or barracks, where they 
have been under instruction since leaving their last ship, 
all having seen service and all competent to perform the 
duties of the stations to which they are assigned. In 
other words, England has always ready a body of edu- 
cated seamen from which she can draw to man the 
ships ordinarily commissioned. In case of emergency, 
when a large number of ships must be put in service at 
the same time, she calls to the colours the men of the 
naval reserve. Other nations have some similar plan. 

Now let us see how it is with us. There is nothing 
else in the world so discouraging as the commissioning 
of a new battleship in our navy. For months after it 
is done the officers are worn to a shadow in their efforts 
to bring her to a state of efficiency. When the dock- 
yard people report her ready, the crew is sent on board 
and the flag hoisted. Sometimes the complement of 
officers is complete, but this is often not the case, and 
always, because of the shortage of officers, the number 
detailed is about half what it would be for a foreign 
ship of the same class. As to the crew, the captain is 
indeed lucky who finds half of his crew on board the 
day his flag is hoisted. This half crew is composed of 
men of different ratings — excellent men many of them ; 

343 



An Admiral's Log 

some with two years to serve and many with only two 
months. To make up the number necessary to man the 
ship, apprentice seamen are sent from the various train- 
ing stations, where they have been drilled for a few 
months and taught to care for their persons and their 
clothing. For the first time in their lives they are on 
the deck of a ship, and they are absolutely ignorant of 
their duties in her ; they don't know one end of the ship 
from the other; and with this mass of ignorance the 
officers must contend. Fortunately for us, these re- 
cruits are most intelligent material to work with, as a 
rule, and our petty officers are up to their work, but for 
the first year of her commission one of our battleships 
is a school unknown anywhere else on the water. 

After a few months of steady work, the times of the 
older .men begin to expire, and new ones are sent in 
their places. Those of the recruits who find a sea life 
and hard work not to their liking desert, and in their 
places come new ones from the training station. Each 
ship is thus in some respects a receiving ship, con- 
stantly changing her crew by discharge or transfer. 
The officers struggle on in their efforts to meet the re- 
quirements of the commander-in-chief, who in turn is 
trying hard to do what Washington demands of him. 
It is amusing under such conditions to hear the com- 
ments of the swivel-chair critics, who from their roll-top 
desks demand that we shall do battle tactics, fight one 
squadron against another — in a few words, do the vari- 
ous things — some of them very silly — that foreign fleets 
do ! While these learned gentlemen of the chairs are 
thus telling us what we should do, we are not really 
idle. The captains and their hard-working juniors are 

344 



Enlistment in the Navy 

struggling to educate men to steer their ships, and the 
commander-in-chief is giving his best efforts to pre- 
vent the ships from ramming each other in the simplest 
evolutions. 

When we take a broad viev^'' of the situation, it 
seems surprising that those in charge in the Navy De- 
partment succeed as well as they do in manning our 
ships. The difficulties to be overcome are far greater 
than in any other country. The American lad who en- 
lists in the navy to serve four years has two things 
prominently in his mind when he does so : first, he 
wishes to travel and see the world, and this he is en- 
couraged to think he can do in the navy ; in the second 
place, he wishes, in some undefined way, to advance 
himself to a better position in life. The first, the wish 
to travel, he generally realises; the second, to advance 
himself, always follows if the lad is industrious and 
gives due attention to his work; and herein lies our 
greatest difficulty. If at the end of four years he has 
not been promoted, it is his own fault, and the navy Is 
no place for him. For those who succeed, civil life, as 
a rule, offers a better career than the navy; at least It 
seems better because of the better pay. Many find, 
when too late, that they have made a mistake in leav- 
ing us. 

Every man discharged from the navy with an hon- 
ourable discharge can find employment on shore at a 
salary much larger than we can pay him, and many 
valuable men take advantage of this. Electric compa- 
nies, railroads, and street railway companies are glad to 
get the men whom we have educated, and In some 
cities preference is given them on the police force. Be- 

345 



An Admiral's Log 

cause of rapid promotion, the lower grades of the serv- 
ice are always filled by new recruits, and the upper 
grades much depleted from the causes stated above. 
We are constantly taking men into the service and, after 
educating them, sending them back to civil life well 
qualified for good citizenship, and are thus doing well 
by the country, but it does not keep our ships manned 
as they should be. When we are older as a nation and 
a sea power I have no doubt that a remedy will be 
found for all these things. 

To give our men the necessary preliminary target 
practice during the summer months we required smooth 
water, unencumbered with shipping or fishermen, and 
to find this was very difficult. The long range of our 
guns made it important that we should fire to seaward, 
for otherwise the projectiles might land on shore and 
do much damage. For two years the practice has been 
held in Menemsha Bight, off Martha's Vineyard, but 
fishermen who frequented that locality claimed that the 
firing of the guns drove the fish to sea, and thus inter- 
fered with their business. They sent long petitions to 
the Navy Department, numerously signed and backed 
by senators and representatives, protesting against our 
practice, and it became necessary to find a new field for 
our work. The fact that our firing did not in any way 
affect the fishing, which was conclusively shown by 
the very best kind of evidence, had no weight. Voters 
must be considered first, and, as we had no votes in the 
navy, we left Menemsha Bight and sought a new target 
range. 

I had the curiosity later to follow up one of the peti- 
tions mentioned above. It bore the names of several 

346 



Cape Cod Bay 

hundred men and was indorsed by at least one repre- 
sentative and one senator. When personally called to 
the attention of the representative he at first declared 
that he had not signed it, but later concluded that he 
had done so without giving it any attention. Of the 
men who put their names to it, nine-tenths were not 
fishermen, but lived on the shores of Cape Cod and 
sometimes went to sea on coasting vessels. Some of 
them did not even know where Menemsha Bight was. 
Most of them might be considered fishermen only be- 
cause they fished for small pieces of dried codfish found 
in bowls on the bars of local saloons, where they served 
as drink appetisers! Beyond this they had no knowl- 
edge of fish or fishing. 

My able chief of staff, Captain Pillsbury, looked the 
coast charts over, and finally selected a suitable target 
range in Cape Cod Bay, off the town of Barnstable, 
Massachusetts. Here there was plenty of smooth water 
during the summer and autumn months and no fisher- 
men to bother us. The beautiful harbour of Province- 
town was available as headquarters for the fleet, where 
the small vessels and torpedo craft could anchor in 
safety, even in the worst storms. A better place for 
our work could not apparently be found. Rail connec- 
tions were such that our supplies could be easily han- 
dled, and in addition there was daily communication 
with Boston by boat. Full of enthusiasm and fond an- 
ticipations, I took the fleet to Provincetown and pre- 
pared for work. 

The people of the picturesque old New England 
town were glad to see us, and did not hesitate to say 
so. The hotels and boarding houses were soon crowded 

347 



An Admirals Log 

with officers' families and others anxious to witness our 
drills. Everything promised a most comfortable and 
instructive period. The officers raised enough money 
to purchase and fit up an athletic field about a mile 
from the town, and on this the men by the hun- 
dreds spent their time in healthful recreation. I was 
personally on shore among the men day and night to 
observe their conduct and see for myself that they cre- 
ated no disturbance. Everything went well for a few 
weeks, and then trouble began. 

I noticed that some of the men were drinking too 
much, and that the effect of what they drank was very 
peculiar. They were not drunk in the ordinary sense 
of the word, but crazy drunk — unable to recognise their 
own officers. It was against the law to sell liquor in the 
town, but it was painfully evident that the law was not 
being enforced. Due inquiry developed the fact that 
a number of " blind tigers " were being operated, and 
from these the men obtained a drink labelled whisky. 
It was in reality wood alcohol, with a little whiskey to 
flavour it. For half-pint bottles of this the keepers of 
the dens were being paid five dollars apiece. Where 
such profits could be realised, the offenders simply 
laughed at police regulations. Upon representing the 
matter to the selectmen, they frankly admitted that they 
were unable to stop it. When I suggested that they 
allow me to stop it for them, they decided that it would 
not be lawful for me to do so, but they promised to pun- 
ish the offenders severely if I could catch them. 

When this was clearly understood I landed a mas- 
ter-at-arms, one of the ships' police, and two minors. 
They bought the liquor and brought it to me, with the 

348 



Recreation on Sunday 

name and residence of the parties from whom they had 
purchased it. The case was then taken to the select- 
men, who tried the culprits and imposed a fine, with 
imprisonment. The lawyer for the defendants ap- 
pealed the case, the appeal was granted, and the case 
ordered for retrial at Barnstable in November, when it 
was thought the ships, with the witnesses, would be in 
the West Indies ! Of course, this result did not tend to 
discourage drinking places. In addition to this evil, a 
number of disreputable women came down from Bos- 
ton and established their residences in empty freight 
cars on the wharf. This, it seemed to me, could have 
been prevented without much effort. Notwithstanding 
all the drawbacks, the conduct of the men was good — 
good enough, at any rate, to bring compliments from 
the people who saw them on shore. 

Toward the end of the summer real trouble came. 
The bluejackets were much interested in baseball, foot- 
ball, and other athletic sports. As they were busily oc- 
cupied with their work all the week, they were allowed 
Saturdays and Sundays for recreation — all day Satur- 
day, practically, and on Sunday after two o'clock in the 
afternoon, church services having been held at ten 
o'clock and the men's dinners served at noon. Nearly 
all the inhabitants visited the field on Sunday afternoon 
to witness the spirited contests between the men of 
different ships. It seemed to me that this way of spend- 
ing their time was of great benefit to the bluejackets, 
and I encouraged them in it. If would have been inhu- 
man in me to keep seven or eight thousand men locked 
up in the ships under the circumstances; and to land 
them simply to roam about the town and get drunk on 

349 



An Admiral's Log 

wood alcohol, at ten dollars a pint, would be equally 
bad, if not worse. I therefore encouraged them to 
amuse themselves by playing baseball and other inno- 
cent games after church hours, as was the custom of 
Calvin in the town of Geneva, Switzerland. 

My surprise was great when I received a letter, 
signed by a number of ministers of the Gospel and some 
of the selectmen, protesting against the men indulging 
in athletic sport on Sunday, and requesting that I would 
take means to ensure the observance of the Lord's day 
by those under my command. I replied that every day 
was the Lord's day with me; that in deference to their 
wishes I would not allow athletic sports on Sunday un- 
til half-past two in the afternoon, when their church 
services would have been finished. I further pointed 
out the necessity of some form of exercise and recrea- 
tion for the men of the fleet on Sunday, and suggested 
that, as the athletic field was nearly a mile from the 
town, no one could be disturbed by the games. I also 
cited the fact that most of the people attended the 
games on Sunday, thus indicating that they were not 
seriously opposed to them. In conclusion, I requested 
them to attend to their own business and not to inter- 
fere with mine ; that I thought they would do better to 
look after their " blind tigers " and other violations of 
law and let my bluejackets alone. 

Then a letter was written by these over-zealous 
Christians to the Secretary of the Navy, calling atten- 
tion to the fact that we were violating the laws of the 
State of Massachusetts with our Sunday games. This 
letter was forwarded to me for reply. It informed me 
for the first time that I was acting contrary to law in 

350 



Over-zealous Christians 

the course I had pursued. I was aware that a law had 
been passed in the State of New York prohibiting 
games on Sunday, which, when carried into court, had 
promptly been declared unconstitutional, but I did not 
know and had no reason to think that there was any 
such law on the statute books of Massachusetts. The 
appeal to me was to see that my men did not violate 
the Lord's day; there was no mention of violating 
any law. As soon as my attention was called to it, I 
looked up the law, found that I had violated it, and at 
once gave orders that it should be strictly observed in 
the future. No naval officer will knowingly disregard 
the laws of a state in which he may be temporarily sta- 
tioned. 

It had never occurred to me that a body of men so 
wise and conservative as the legislature of the great 
State of Massachusetts would forbid reasonable and 
healthy exercise on Sunday or any other day. That 
they might forbid the playing of games by professionals 
for money on Sunday was likely, but that this involved 
prohibiting healthful exercise or innocent amusement 
on that day did not follow. However, I had nothing to 
do with making the law ; my business was to enforce it. 
When I knew what the law was, I enforced it for those 
under my command, and am sorry to say that those on 
shore did not do the same for those under their care. 

The question of reasonable exercise and amusement 
for the enlisted men was of such importance in my mind 
that I informed the selectmen that I would endeavour to 
find a locality where the laws were different, and, hav- 
ing found it, would use that place instead of Province- 
town as headquarters for the fleet thenceforward. We 

351 



An Admiral's Log 

were spending about one hundred thousand dollars per 
month in the village, and this sum was increased by 
those who came to the town because we were there. 
All this money went directly to the townspeople in one 
way or another, and the prospect of losing it was not 
pleasing to them. A mass-meeting was called, at which 
the ministers and selectmen who had signed the letter 
to the Secretary of the Navy received strong evidence 
of disapproval of their course. The inhabitants were 
practically a unit against the enforcement of the law, if 
not in favour of its repeal. They finally succeeded in 
having a committee of the legislature, then in ses- 
sion, look into the matter, but with what result I have 
never heard. 

Suitable ground was found off the town of Barn- 
stable, in the southern part of Cape Cod Bay, and here 
our targets were planted. When the heavy guns were 
used a new difficulty was encountered. It was found 
that when a ship was in a certain position the firing 
caused the plastering to fall in in many of the houses on 
shore, ten or twelve miles away; in one or two cases 
the walls of the houses were actually cracked. After 
some investigation, I was satisfied that this was be- 
cause the houses were built on, or near, a ledge of 
rock that extended out into the bay, and that the vibra- 
tion caused by the firing of the guns was taken up by 
this ledge and so transmitted to the walls. There was 
no other reasonable way of accounting for the damage 
done. Most of those whose property had been thus in- 
jured were patriotic enough to let it pass, as they felt 
that we had to fire the guns somewhere. Others, how- 
ever, forwarded claims to the Navy Department, de- 

352 



Escorting Squadron from France 

manding pay for the damage they had sustained. I 
recall one particular case of this kind. A small farmer 
claimed that our firing had caused the shelves in his 
store-room to fall, and thus his entire stock of pre- 
serves for the v^inter had been destroyed. He asked 
the government to pay him the sum of thirty-nine dol- 
lars. His letter w^as sent to me for a statement and rec- 
ommendation. I stated the facts in the case, and then 
recommended that the proper county officials should be 
requested to proceed against him for keeping his family 
in a house that was unsafe for them to live in! If our 
guns caused the shelves in his store-room to fall, as he 
claimed they did, a hard gale of wind would probably 
level the whole structure. I never heard of the claim 
again. 

After two months of steady work in Cape Cod Bay 
we ran down to Newport and filled up with coal. A 
squadron of four ships was on its way home from 
France, bringing the remains of John Paul Jones, which 
had been discovered in Paris by our minister. General 
Horace Porter. The finding of these remains after 
years of search constitutes one of the most thrilling 
undertakings ever carried out. 

My orders were to meet this squadron at sea and 
escort them to Cape Henry, on their way to Annapolis, 
where the remains of the great sea fighter were to rest 
in a suitable receptacle in the new chapel of the Naval 
Academy. The date of their sailing from France was 
given, but the point at which I was to meet these ves- 
sels was left entirely to me. For practice, I assumed 
that they represented an enemy's fleet in time of war, 
and arranged to get in touch with them by scouting, 

353 



An Admiral's Log 

and to have their movements reported every hour. The 
vessels were sent out one after another from Newport, 
and the scouting hne so arranged that Admiral Sigsbee 
and his four ships were picked up well to the eastward 
of Nantucket, and at least one scout was in touch with 
him, reading his wireless messages, and repeating them 
to me for twenty- four hours before he joined company. 
He was aware that several ships were in his vicinity, 
as he could detect the working of their wireless outfits, 
but as all their messages were in a cipher unknown to 
him he could not identify them. Inside Cape Henry the 
Atlantic Squadron was stopped and saluted the special 
squadron as it passed on up the bay. 

Early in November I was ordered to proceed to an 
anchorage off Annapolis, and there receive the English 
squadron of four armoured cruisers under the com- 
mand of his Serene Highness Rear-Admiral Prince 
Louis of Battenberg, which was about to arrive on our 
coast. Such duty was a great pleasure to every officer 
and man in the squadron, as it gave us an opportunity 
to return some of the kindness and courtesy shown us 
by the officers and men of the English navy on many 
occasions. A division of armoured cruisers under com- 
mand of Rear-Admiral Brownson, which had been es- 
corting President Roosevelt to and from the Isthmus 
of Panama, was ordered to join me, which made the 
number of ships in the receiving line twelve, all fine 
specimens of American workmanship. 

The English squadron arrived at the hour an- 
nounced, and it was instructive to see the wonderful 
speed and accuracy with which the ships were handled. 
Only constant practice could produce the results shown 

354 



Two Admirals* Flags 

by them. The American ships were anchored in two 
Hnes, extending about north and south. Inside of them 
I had marked an anchorage for the visitors, the position 
of each being indicated by a small white buoy. The 
squadron came in at a speed of seventeen knots, which 
was not changed until the buoys were approached, 
when the engines were thrown full speed astern and 
their headway checked. The four anchors were let go 
at the same moment, almost on top of the buoys. It 
was a sight to gladden a seaman's heart. 

When I had received the Prince and returned his 
call, it was necessary for him to pay his respects to the 
superintendent of the Naval Academy. International 
custom requires that the arriving officer, when of the 
same rank as the one in port, or his junior, shall make 
the first call. Prince Louis was a Rear-Admiral, and 
the same rank was held by me and by Admiral Sands, 
in command at Annapolis. As a matter of courtesy, I 
got under way in my tender, the Yankton, commanded 
by an able young officer. Lieutenant W. R. Gherardi, 
and invited his Highness to take passage with me, 
v/hich he was glad to do. As he came over the side 
his flag was broken out at the mainmast head, and we 
thus had the unusual sight of a vessel of war flying the 
American flag, with an English admiral's flag at her 
mast head! Prince Louis appreciated the compliment, 
and turning to me courteously said : 

** Admiral, it would be a great pleasure to me to see 
your flag flying at the same time ! " 

Of course, my flag was immediately hoisted at the 
foremast head, and we steamed up to the Naval Acad- 
emy with two admirals' flags hoisted at the same time 

355 



An Admirars Log 

on the same ship. I do not know that this was ever 
seen before. 

The visiting officers were entertained at the Naval 
Academy after they had thoroughly inspected that in- 
stitution. They were also shown every possible cour- 
tesy by the officers afloat, but nothing was done for the 
enlisted men; that was to come later at a more con- 
venient time and place. The following day a special 
train conveyed a large party of officers, both English 
and American, to Washington, where they were enter- 
tained by the President and the British ambassador. 
After a visit of a few days at the capital, the English 
officers returned to Annapolis, where further entertain- 
ments awaited them. 

In the meantime I returned to my flagship, and 
wuth the squadron proceeded to New York, where I 
was ordered to meet the visiting squadron and entertain 
the officers and men. My flagship, the Maine, was 
moored off the foot of Seventy-ninth Street, in the 
North River, and the other ships in a line upstream 
tow^ard Grant's tomb. They were close in to the shore, 
and from the Riverside Drive presented a fine appear- 
ance. When the English squadron arrived, the flag- 
ship was moored below the Maine and next to her, 
while the others were placed in line downstream toward 
Forty-second Street. Thus the two flagships were to- 
gether, and the combined squadrons formed a line 
about three miles long up and down the river. The 
following day the British flagship was hauled into the 
Cunard Company's pier, that the Prince might more 
easily receive his visitors. 

The people of New York city received the visitors 
356 



An International Entertainment 

with great courtesy and cordiality. Many balls and re- 
ceptions were tendered them, and many private dinners 
given in their honour. They were taken to West Point 
in company with a large party of distinguished people 
who had been invited to meet them. I think the most 
notable entertainment of all was that given by the en- 
listed men of our squadron to those of the British ships. 
The entire affair was organised and managed by a com- 
mittee of petty officers and enlisted men. They raised 
the money by subscription from the bluejackets of the 
squadron, designed the invitations and menu cards, 
chartered the necessary transportation, and made all the 
arrangements for the dinner, which was given at Coney 
Island. 

On the day appointed one of the steamers of the 
Iron Steamboat Company, which had been secured for 
the purpose, collected the men from the different ships 
and landed them at Coney Island half an hour before 
the dinner time. They were then marched to the dinner 
tables and seated, each English bluejacket having an 
American by his side. In the meantime sixty officers, 
thirty British and a like number of ours, had been con- 
veyed by special trolley cars to the dining hall. Prince 
Louis and I led the procession to the large centre table 
arranged for us, escorted by a guard composed of men 
from all the ships in equal numbers. When we reached 
our places two little girls came forward, each holding a 
beautiful bouquet. One was dressed as Britannia, the 
other as Columbia. Miss Columbia presented her bou- 
quet to Prince Louis, and I watched carefully to see 
what he would do. He took the flowers and then 
kissed the blushing maiden who presented them. Of 
24 357 



An Admiral's Log 

course, I had to do the same thing for Miss Britannia 
when my turn came. The cheers of the men during 
this pretty scene were deafening. 

When we were seated at the table we found that 
champagne had been served for the officers and beer 
for the men. The wine was not uncorked, however, 
the officers contenting themselves with the same kind 
of refreshment as was served to the bluejackets. An 
American petty officer welcomed the guests, proposed 
the health of the President of the United States and 
the King of England, which we drank standing, and, 
after three cheers for Prince Louis and his men, the 
feast progressed. His Highness and I remained at the 
table only a few minutes, and then went into one of 
the galleries, from which we could have a view of the 
entire room. It certainly was a wonderfully beautiful 
sight as we glanced over the twenty-four hundred en- 
listed men seated at the tables — twelve hundred British 
and twelve hundred Americans. Looking only at their 
faces, one could not say which was which ; only by their 
uniforms could one nationality be told from the other. 
The dinner was finished at midnight, when the room 
was quickly transformed into a theatre, and a fine com- 
pany, engaged for the occasion, rendered an excellent 
vaudeville performance until four o'clock in the morn- 
ing, when the men returned by trolley cars to Brooklyn 
and were taken off to their ships. A large police force 
was on hand to protect the men from interference by 
outside people and to care for any who might imbibe 
too freely. The officer in charge of this force reported 
that there was no disorder of any kind, and not a single 
arrest was made of any sailor in uniform. Who will 

358 



Prince Louis in New York 

not say, with the gallant Tatnall, that " blood is thicker 
than water " ? 

In the meantime, while the men were enjoying 
their dinner, the officers were whisked off in automo- 
biles to the horse show in Madison Square Garden. We 
only remained half an hour with the men at dinner and 
then withdrew, leaving them to their own devices for 
the rest of the night. Headed by the chief of police of 
the city of New York, we raced in motor cars from 
Coney Island to the Garden in less than forty minutes. 
The green light on the leading car gave us the right of 
way, and warned all policemen that their chief was 
setting the pace for us, and that we could go as fast 
as the machines could take us. It was a beautiful ride, 
but I, for one, was glad when we arrived without acci- 
dent. Some of the turns in the narrow streets of 
Brooklyn were made at a break-neck speed that would 
have made a bad mess for us if any part of one of the 
machines had broken. 

At the horse show the British officers had an oppor- 
tunity of seeing New York society on dress parade, so 
to speak. Beautiful women in exquisite gowns, wear- 
ing fortunes in gems, and handsome men in immaculate 
evening dress, filled the boxes, while blue-ribbon thor- 
oughbreds filled the ring. Prince Louis made a circuit 
of the parade, admiring what he saw in both the boxes 
and the ring. I have no doubt that in his experience 
abroad he had seen much the same thing before, for the 
world has many such exhibitions, but I am sure that 
what he witnessed at Coney Island was entirely new to 
him — the world does not often present the spectacle of 
twenty-four hundred bluejackets seated at dinner in one 

359 



An Admiral's Log 

room, half of them being entertained at the expense of 
the other half. 

In return for the courtesies shown him, the Prince 
gave a great ball on board his flagship. A complete 
deck was laid over the upper works of the Drake, and 
the whole space enclosed in canvas. Flowers and flags 
were used in profusion, and a dancing room of fairy- 
like beauty was produced. The entire ship was thrown 
open to the great crowd of friends who responded to 
his invitations, and the Prince and his officers were un- 
tiring in their attentions to all. A portion of the dock 
adjacent to the ship was partitioned off, and at midnight 
a sumptuous banquet was served. No finer entertain- 
ment, I think, was ever given by a ship. 

When the time came to leave, Prince Louis con- 
fided to me that there had been but one unpleasant inci- 
dent during his entire visit, and, as that afterwards 
appeared in the newspapers, I may mention it here. 
Some friend had recommended a dentist to him in New 
York, and, requiring his services, he had employed him 
to do a small amount of work on his teeth. To his sur- 
prise and annoyance, this dentist sent in a bill of one 
thousand dollars ! I advised the Prince to refuse to pay 
such an exorbitant sum, and to turn the matter over to 
his consul-general for settlement. The newspapers 
somehow heard of it, and when they were through with 
the gentleman I think he was quite willing to accept a 
reasonable amount for his services! The advertising 
he received was not of the kind that dentists like. 

A short time after the English cruiser squadron re- 
turned to England, I received from Prince Louis two 
souvenirs of their visit to the United States. One was 

360 



The Battenberg Cup 

for me personally from his Highness — a cigarette 
case with two admirals' flags, British and American, 
enamelled upon it, and the words, " Yankton, 3-1 1- 
05," the date of our visit to Annapolis, when the two 
flags flew at the same time from the same ship. The 
other was a beautiful cup, very large and heavy, for the 
men of the American squadron from the enlisted men 
of the English squadron. In the letter forwarding 
them the request was made that this cup should be con- 
sidered a challenge cup, to be raced for by the men of 
our squadron. It was duly named the " Battenberg 
Cup," and is held as a perpetual challenge cup. Many 
spirited contests have been held for it, and it is now 
regarded as the most valuable racing trophy among the 
many in possession of the Atlantic Fleet. In drawing 
up the rules governing the race for it I inserted a 
clause that any British vessel might compete for the 
cup, providing she pulled in one of our regulation 
racing cutters. If she should win, the name of the ship 
should be inscribed on it, but the cup must remain in 
our possession. Since then the name of one British 
ship has been so inscribed. The cruiser Argyle won 
in a splendidly contested race in Hampton Roads 
during the Jamestown Exposition, and hers is the 
only name of an English ship, so far, on the coveted 
trophy. 

It cannot be doubted that this visit of the cruiser 
squadron had an excellent effect in strengthening the 
friendly ties that bind the two great English-speaking 
nations. Friendships were formed not only between 
the men of the two services, but also between the Eng- 
lish sailors and our people on shore which must in the 

361 



An Admiral's Log 

future tend to hold us to the mother country in bonds 
of forbearance and peace. 

Having completed the entertainment of these wel- 
come guests of our government — and paid the bills out 
of our own pockets — the ships of the squadron were 
sent to the navy yards for a brief period of repairs, to 
be made ready for the winter's work in the West Indies. 

During the early months of the summer I had given 
much time to two evolutions at the request of the War 
College, made through the general board. A battle 
plan submitted in the same way would have received 
careful attention if it had been sent to me. Owing to a 
mistake on the part of the mailing clerk in the board 
room, or some one else, this plan rested in a pigeonhole 
several months, and was only brought to light when I had 
been charged with neglecting to carry out the wishes of 
the Bureau of Navigation in the matter of battle plans. 
Some of the swivel-chair men were quite strong in their 
condemnation. Later, I believe, the matter was taken 
to the President, and then the truth became known and 
the blame placed where it belonged. No real battle 
practice, in the sense of one fleet actually operating 
against another, had yet been held, because we had no 
cruisers or vessels to do the work. In addition, the bat- 
tleships had not had sufficient work in preliminary 
drills. 



CHAPTER XXVII 

IN THE WEST INDIES 

Early in December the squadron assembled at Fort 
Monroe, and for the first time a division of armoured 
cruisers was available for work with the squadron. A 
very able and skilful officer, Rear-Admiral Brownson, 
was in command of this division, and entered with 
great enthusiasm into the plans I proposed. I was 
anxious to test the wireless outfits of the squadron and 
to see how far I could rely on them as a means of keep- 
ing me in touch with an opposing fleet : first, when such 
a fleet was without cruisers, and hence in no danger of 
interference ; second, when all known means of interfer- 
ence were used. The dry dock Dewey had started for 
Manila in tow of suitable vessels, and was supposed to 
be somewhere in the vicinity of Bermuda. This gave 
a fine opportunity to test the first part of the problem — 
viz. : the confidence to be placed in the wireless tele- 
graph as a means of keeping in touch with an enemy's 
fleet which was without cruisers. 

The cruiser division was sent to sea from Hamp- 
ton Roads at such intervals that they found themselves 
two hundred and fifty miles apart when clear of the 
land. When the last one had attained her position I 
sailed with the battleships, bound for Culebra. Admiral 
Brownson had orders to keep his cruiser line at right 

363 



An Admiral's Log 

angles to my course, pick up the Dewey, and keep me 
informed by wireless of her movements, which he did 
most successfully. The dock was found south-east of 
Bermuda, and for five days and nights I knew exactly 
where she w^as and what she was doing, although she 
was fifteen hundred miles away. When we anchored in 
Target Bay, the cruisers were recalled, and arrived with 
intervals about as regular as they were when they sailed 
from Hampton Roads. The other part of the problem, 
which involved the possibility of so interfering with the 
working of the wireless as to prevent reliable communi- 
cation, was tried later, but of this I cannot write in de- 
tail. Sufficient to say that for three days and nights 
four cruisers kept me informed of the movements of an 
opposing division of battleships. Notwithstanding the 
efforts of the battleships to prevent it, a message came 
every two hours, giving their position, course, and 
speed. The work was most exhausting for the ma- 
chines as well as the men working them, but it settled a 
very important professional point. 

Target ranges were laid out in the vicinity of Tar- 
get Bay, and the armoured cruiser division held their 
preliminary practice, while the battleships in two divi- 
sions continued their tactical work at sea. When the 
firing had been completed, the squadron proceeded to 
Guantanamo for small-arm practice. When we arrived 
the marines of all the ships were at once landed, as had 
been done the year before, and put under canvas. A 
new camping place had been selected, which was much 
larger than the one we had previously used. To facili- 
tate the practice of the bluejackets and extend their 
work, they also were landed, one ship's company at a 

364 



A Very vSuccessful Regatta 

time. Men so landed lived on shore for a week, or until 
the firing had been completed. In this way the men 
were relieved from the monotony of ship life and at the 
same time learned many things that would prove of 
value to them in case it became necessary to land them 
for service as a naval brigade. While this work was in 
hand the squadron, except the ship whose men were on 
shore, got under way every day and exercised at sea. 
Saturdays and Sundays were, as usual, given up to ath- 
letics after church time, as well as a portion of every 
other afternoon after the ships returned to their anchor- 
age. In this way nearly ten thousand men were made 
happy and contented while they did a great amount of 
hard work. Not a day was allowed to pass without 
serious preparatory drill for the record target practice 
to take place later ofif Cape Cruz. 

Despite the amount of work done, we found time to 
prepare for a regatta at which the Battenberg Cup and 
many other valuable trophies were raced for. I had 
succeeded after a long struggle in having regulation 
twelve-oared racing cutters adopted for the service, and 
in them the men pulled for the challenge cups. Other 
races were contested in the regular boats of the ships. 
It had been the custom in years gone by for the men of 
each ship to raise a sufficient sum to purchase a racing 
boat. If such a boat won, some ship would immedi- 
ately have a faster one built. Thus it became a ques- 
tion of boats and not of crews that won many races. 
This custom caused the men to spend large sums of 
money for purely racing machines, which was a hard- 
ship, and I made up my mind to put a stop to it. A 
suitable light racing cutter was designed and one built 

365 



An Admiral's Log 

at the navy yard for each vessel in the service. They 
were as nearly as possible exactly of the same dimen- 
sions and weight, thus permitting the crews to pull on 
even terms. The best-trained crew, as a rule, won, 
which was as it should be. At the regatta mentioned 
above I had the pleasure of seeing eleven hundred men 
in pulling boats at the same time! And at other times 
fifty or sixty boats were racing under sails. Because 
of these contests and the boxing bouts which took 
place daily on the various ships, the men were better 
able to perform their duties at the guns. We thus de- 
veloped a large number of men who were as active as 
cats and as tough as nails. 

While anchored at Guantanamo later in the winter, 
a telegram came from Governor Magoon at Havana 
announcing a destructive earthquake at Kingston, in 
the island of Jamaica. As I now recall the message, it 
was, in effect, that the city was partially destroyed, 
causing many deaths and much suffering, and that the 
governor of Jamaica had asked the English consul at 
Havana for assistance. Governor Magoon asked if I 
could not render prompt assistance by sending over re- 
lief supplies and surgeons on a torpedo boat. I replied 
that I could, and would do so with pleasure. When the 
message came I was on board the Alabama, flagship of 
Rear-Admiral Davis, commanding the second division, 
and as soon as I realised the gravity of the situation I 
ordered the admiral to prepare to sail immediately for 
Kingston with two battleships, and on his arrival to 
render all possible assistance to the people of the 
stricken city. I was fortunate in having such a man 
as Admiral Davis available for such important duty. 

366 



Earthquake at Kingston 

The flotilla of destroyers was at the moment engaged 
in manoeuvres in the outer harbour. It was half-past 
nine in the morning when the message came, and at ten 
o'clock I made signal for the fastest of the boats to 
return to her anchorage immediately and prepare for a 
full-speed run at sea. 

In the meantime signal was made for emergency 
medical supplies to be sent to my flagship, where they 
were assembled under the care of the surgeon of the 
fleet, who, with two other surgeons, was in readiness to 
sail on the destroyer. At a quarter before eleven the 
Whipple, the fastest of the destroyers, left the harbour 
with orders to proceed with all despatch to Kingston, 
render what aid she could, and notify the governor that 
Admiral Davis would arrive at daylight the following 
morning with two battleships, fully prepared to assist in 
any way the governor might direct. 

The Whipple was driven at full speed through a 
very rough sea, and arrived off the harbour early in the 
evening. The earthquake had destroyed, or damaged, 
the lighthouse and other aids to navigation, and the 
pilots refused to take the Whipple into the harbour, but 
her commanding officer succeeded in safely navigating 
her to one of the docks, and immediately reported his 
arrival. The surgeons went to work at once to relieve 
the great suffering evident everywhere. 

Admiral Davis left Guantanamo with two battle- 
ships, and appeared off Kingston at daylight the follow- 
ing morning. Before he left I told him that he would 
find Governor Swettenham of Jamaica a charming 
man, I felt sure of this, because I had known his 
brother, Sir Frank Swettenham, in Singapore, and I 

367 



An Admiral's Log 

was confident that any brother of his must be a charm- 
ing good fellow. When the admiral returned to Guan- 
tanamo, four days later, he said to me : 

" You may select good fellows for some of your 

friends, but I will be if you can select one 

for me ! " 

After hearing his account of his visit and his expe- 
rience with the governor, I felt that I had not been jus- 
tified in my statement that he would find him a charm- 
ing man. 

The two battleships arrived in the harbour very 
early in the morning, and found things there in pretty 
bad shape. The dock was crowded with passengers, 
many of them Americans, waiting for a steamer to take 
them away. They were without food or any of the 
conveniences of life. They were at once made comfort- 
able and fed on board the ships. The colonial secretary 
reported to Admiral Davis that the convicts in the jail 
had overcome the guards and were making trouble, and 
that the governor requested him, Admiral Davis, to 
look after them, which he promptly did. One of the 
battleships was anchored near the jail, a detail of men 
under arms was landed, and in a short time the convicts 
were back in their cells and reduced to order. In the 
meantime the surgeons had selected a building which 
was being used as a hospital, and many patients were 
being treated by them. English engineer officers had 
asked for parties of men, and these, by the use of dyna- 
mite, were destroying many dangerous walls. Other 
parties were working in the blazing sun and sickening 
stench to remove the dead and rescue the wounded from 
the ruins. In a word, Admiral Davis did what was 

368 



Governor Swettenham 

expected of an able and energetic officer under the cir- 
cumstances, and he did it well, as he always did every- 
thing he was ordered to do. 

After rather a long delay, the admiral succeeded in 
finding the governor, who seemed worn out with the 
work and worry of the past few days. His Excellency, 
with scant show of courtesy, demanded to know why 
armed men had been landed before a request to do so 
had been made. Admiral Davis replied that he had re- 
ceived such a request from the governor, conveyed 
through his colonial secretary, and that he had landed 
the men to give such assistance as had been asked for. 
The governor denied that he had made any such re- 
quest, asked that the men be sent back to their ships at 
once, and that the ships leave the harbour, as their 
presence was not welcome. Admiral Davis said he 
would go to the jail and order the men embarked at 
once. The governor then said that he was going to the 
jail himself, and requested the admiral to drive there 
with him and the colonial secretary, which he did. On 
arriving there the necessary orders were given to the 
officer in command of the sailors, and then the governor 
requested that a detail of them should act as a guard for 
him while he held court for the purpose of punishing 
some of the convicts. His request was granted, and the 
same bluejackets who, as he claimed, had been landed 
against his wishes stood guard over him while he per- 
formed his judicial functions! As soon as possible the 
working parties were recalled, and the following day 
the ships put to sea, after landing all the medical and 
other supplies they had brought. 

The mass of the people of Kingston were grateful 
369 



An Admiral's Log 

for the assistance given them, and all of them, except 
his Excellency the governor and a few of his staff, 
wanted the ships to remain, despite the governor's invi- 
tation to leave ; but this, of course, was out of the ques- 
tion, and they returned to Guantanamo. A more dis- 
gusted set of officers and men I have never seen. I not 
only approved the conduct of Admiral Davis in the 
whole matter, but I heartily commended him for the 
wonderful coolness he showed under most trying condi- 
tions. He made a full report of his trip, which was 
approved by the President and the Navy Department. 
The English press gave us praise for what we did, and 
many telegrams were received thanking me for acting 
promptly and Admiral Davis for the assistance ren- 
dered. Governor Swettenham was promptly removed 
by his government, which entirely disapproved of his 
conduct, and a new man was put in his place. 

After the return of the ships from Jamaica the 
squadron was organised into two divisions, and the bat- 
tle plans submitted by the War College were thoroughly 
threshed out. Every morning the division commanded 
by Admiral Davis went to sea, and when they were out 
of sight I followed with the first division. After 
manoeuvring for position, the two divisions came within 
range of each other and a battle followed, each phase 
of which was carefully followed by umpires, who plot- 
ted the positions of the various vessels at short inter- 
vals. In this way much valuable experience was gained, 
and the weak as well as the strong points of the war- 
college plans demonstrated. The guns were kept con- 
stantly trained and their fire concentrated on the oppos- 
ing ships ; the number of rounds fired, or supposed to be 

370 



Improvement in Target Practice 

fired, were counted; in a few words, the exercise was 
as much like actual battle as it could be made. For the 
first time in my experience the ships were all handled 
from the conning towers, as would be the case in time 
of war. When all this work had been completed, the 
results, with full plans of each battle, were forwarded 
to the Department, that the war college might see the 
practical working of its theories. As I now recall it, 
one of the battle plans was excellent and the others of 
little value. Some of the results were so startling that 
I requested the Department to regard them as confiden- 
tial and not to allow them to be published. 

Target practice on the Cape Cruz range followed 
our sea work, and the much-coveted trophy came to the 
North Atlantic Squadron for the first time. The gen- 
eral improvement in rapidity and accuracy of fire was 
marked and most gratifying to officers and men. They 
had given all their time to careful preparation, and as 
a result the trophy came to us, and the gunnery pennant 
flew from the mast head of the battleship Illinois. It 
was only after a very careful computation of results 
that it could be decided which of three battleships had 
won, so close had been the contest. For a time it was 
felt that the Kentucky was ahead of all competitors, but 
in the end the Illinois was declared the winner. 

During this practice we lost one of the best captains 
in the fleet. He had served with me in the gunboat York- 
town during a cruise in the Pacific, and was a most inti- 
mate personal friend. When the cruiser Colorado had 
completed her target practice, I received a signal that 
her commanding of^cer. Captain Duncan Kennedy, was 
ill, suffering intensely from appendicitis. I sent the 

371 



An Admiral's Log 

ablest surgeons of the fleet to him at once, but it was 
impossible to save his hfe. An operation was per- 
formed from which he never rallied. Though appar- 
ently in splendid physical condition, he was unable to 
stand the fearful suffering caused by the inflamed con- 
dition of the appendix and the surrounding portions of 
his body. His death was a sad personal loss to me, as 
well as a great loss to the service which he loved and 
honoured by his devotion to its best interests. The sur- 
geon who operated on him reported to me afterwards 
that he had found eight birdshot in his appendix, which 
seems to disprove the theory that nothing ever enters 
that apparently useless member of our anatomy. 

The battleship Kearsarge met with a deplorable ac- 
cident during the practice, by which two gallant young 
officers and nine men lost their lives. The ship had 
made her last run on the range and completed part of 
her practice, but one of the ihirteen-inch guns in her 
forward turret had failed to fire because of a defective 
lock. The umpires and the gun's crew were in the tur- 
ret examining this lock and unloading the gun when the 
accident happened. The cartridge for this gun is in 
three sections, and these had been withdrawn and were 
lying on the turret floor waiting to be replaced in the 
magazine. To withdraw the shot, a heavy pair of shell 
tongs were being inserted in the breech of the gun, 
when they slipped from the man's hand and fell in such 
a position that the metal handle short-circuited the elec- 
tric current in the turret. The heat from this melted a 
copper connection, and the melted copper fell onto one 
of the sections of the cartridge and set it on fire. The 
other sections were ignited at once, and before any one 

372 



A Deplorable Accident 

could leave the turret it was a seething mass of poison- 
ous gases from the burning smokeless powder. The 
turret was flooded at once with water, and willing hands 
were extended to save those inside, but it was too late; 
one breath of the hot, poisonous gas was enough to kill 
where the hot flames from the powder had not instantly 
put the unfortunate men out of their misery. Some of 
the men were taken out dead, but many, though badly 
burned, were still conscious, and from these we were 
able to learn how the accident had happened. Fortu- 
nately, this time it was not the dreaded flare back, nor 
anything to destroy confidence in the gun or its ammu- 
nition. It was a peculiar accident, which could prob- 
ably not be reproduced if one tried a million times. To 
prevent the possibility of more trouble from the same 
cause, the electric fittings have been removed from all 
the turrets of our ships and placed beneath the floors, 
where they would seem to be accident proof. 

Among the men seriously hurt in this accident was 
one who showed the most remarkable vitality. He was 
a seaman who had been, in his early life, badly cut up 
in a railroad accident. His flesh about the legs and 
thighs was so badly burned in this accident that little 
but the bones remained, and it was impossible to send 
him to the hospital on shore. He was told that there 
was little hope for his life, to which he replied that he 
was not going to die from these injuries, that he had 
been much more severely hurt in a railroad accident, 
and that he meant to get well. To give the poor fellow 
every chance for his life, I sent the Kearsarge to Guan- 
tanamo, where she remained at anchor while the sur- 
geons did all that surgeons could do to save him. He 
25 373 



An Admiral's Log \ 

lingered nine days before he finally died. When he had ' 
been decently and properly buried, the ship was sent 
back to the target ranges, and the turret where the acci- 
dent had happened made a record equal to any in the 
squadron, which shows how perfect the discipline was. 

Lieutenants Hudgins and Graeme, who died from 
the effects of the burning smokeless powder, might 
easily have saved their own lives by jumping from the 
turret, but, instead, they attempted to save the lives of 
the men by stepping in front of them, thus showing the 
splendid spirit that animated them. It is such conduct 
as theirs that makes our service what it is and fixes 
standards for all brave men to live up to. 

The armoured cruiser squadron sailed for the 
north when their practice had been completed, and were 
at once refitted at the navy yards and sailed for the 
East under command of Admiral Brownson. We were 
thus deprived of cruisers in all our battle drills, and the 
loss was severely felt. 



CHAPTER XXVIII 

AT THE JAMESTOWN EXPOSITION 

Early in May the battleships were sent to the navy 
yards and necessary repairs made. We then assembled 
in Cape Cod Bay for our preliminary target practice, 
which had only begun when an order came from the 
Department to send all the marines of the fleet to Ha- 
vana, where a strong naval force had been concentrated 
to check a revolution which had gained some headway 
and was threatening to overthrow the government. 
Four hours after the order was received every marine 
in the squadron left us on the two battleships which 
had been ordered to proceed to the scene of trouble. 
The squadron was thus left without a single marine to 
do the important sentry duty without which many offi- 
cers claimed we could not maintain discipline, but no 
such trouble came. A small detail of bluejackets on 
each ship did the work formerly done by the marines 
in addition to their own, and the only comment heard 
was that we seemed to be happier and more efficient 
without the soldiers than with them. In the meantime 
the senior officer off Havana had under his command, 
and ready in every way for service on shore, a regiment 
of marines, and this same regiment was afterwards 
placed in Camp Columbia or distributed over the island 
of Cuba, where the officers and men did excellent serv- 
ice until they were recalled. 

375 



An Admiral's Log 

President Roosevelt was very anxious to see the tar- 
get practice of some of our battleships, and this he was 
able to do in Cape Cod Bay. He came from Oyster Bay 
on board the Mayflower, arriving at seven o'clock in the 
morning. At the time of his visit the revolution in 
Cuba had assumed such a serious aspect that it seemed 
probable that the United States would have to take 
charge of the island again to prevent great disorder and 
destruction of property. A number of telegrams had 
arrived for the President by wireless, which were deliv- 
ered by me in person the moment the Mayflower dropped 
her anchor. After reading them over he prepared 
a message ordering the occupation of Havana by our 
forces, and directed me to send it by wireless at once. 
When I tried to do so I found the big wireless station 
on Cape Cod sending out broadcast over the ocean cur- 
rent news items, such as the result of baseball games 
and the like. Our operator requested them to close 
down their machine for a few minutes, as we had an im- 
portant message to send for the President of the United 
States. Their instrument was so powerful that ours 
could not be used while theirs was in operation. The 
answer to my request came very promptly, and was in 

about the following words: " Ha, ha! Go to ! " 

Fortunately, I had a torpedo boat ready, and she took 
the message full speed to Provincetown and put it on 
the wires of the Western Union Company. Unless 
some steps are taken by the government by which we 
can control wireless stations in time of war, serious 
trouble will undoubtedly follow. 

It so happened that I had been president of the in- 
terdepartmental board of officers ordered by the Presi- 

376 



A 



The President's Visit 

dent to consider the subject of wireless telegraphy. 
After quite a full discussion of the subject, and foresee- 
ing the difficulties that would follow the installation of 
numerous commercial stations on the coast, the board 
in its report recommended that the government should 
own and operate all the coast stations, and that this duty 
should be assigned to the equipment bureau of the 
Navy Department. The report was approved by the 
President, but no orders were issued on the subject, and 
commercial wireless stations were erected at various 
points along the coast. These were so powerful that 
our instruments on board ship were unable to send mes- 
sages while they were operating. This had caused 
much trouble in our cruising along the coast, and I was 
glad the President should have a practical illustration 
of how annoying it was. I hoped he would find a 
remedy and apply it, but so far it has not been done. 

The President witnessed the firing from the bridge 
of the Maine, and showed great enthusiasm as shell 
after shell went tearing through the target. His pres- 
ence was an incentive to officers and men, and his 
hearty words of praise did them a world of good. His 
visit to the fleet on this occasion, as on several others, 
was of the greatest value. It indicated to all of us the 
great personal interest he took in the navy, and thus 
greatly encouraged all to work for efficiency. 

When I took command of the squadron I found 
much complaint of the food served to the crews. The 
newspapers frequently contained growls from the men 
on the subject, which did us no good in the public esti- 
mation. After a careful investigation I was satisfied 
that there was ground for complaint, but no possible 

377 



An Admiral's Log 

excuse for the way it was made. An order was issued 
directing the men to send their complaints to me 
through their commanding officers, as required by 
regulations, and at the same time all commissary offi- 
cers were required to send me, through proper chan- 
nels, a bill of fare covering the week following its prep- 
aration, showing just what the men were to have for 
each meal. This was approved by the captain and then 
sent to the paymaster of the fleet, who looked it over 
and sent it to me. After I had examined it and it had 
received my approval it was returned to the captain of 
the ship to be carried out. 

This was well enough, so far as it went, but it was 
necessary to see that my orders on the subject were 
carried out. To be sure of this, I left the flagship with 
the officers of my staff, pulled to one of the battleships, 
and directed the captain to have a table spread on the 
mess deck among the crew, that we might dine with the 
men. At the same time I invited him and the commis- 
sary officer to join us. The table was spread exactly as 
were those for the men, and the food served us was the 
same. I did not permit any variation whatever, and in 
this way I knew just what the men had to eat, how it 
was served, etc. This custom once established, I heard 
no more complaints about the food. No one knew 
when I was likely to happen in for dinner, as I never 
made signal that I was coming until it was about to be 
put on the tables, and as I always compared what was 
served with the approved bill of fare, commissary offi- 
cers were careful in their work. If desirable, I could 
to-day tell just what the men of the Atlantic Fleet had 
for each meal from Hampton Roads to San Francisco! 

378 



President Dines with Crew 

When the dinner hour came the day the President 
was with us in Cape Cod Bay I took him, with my staff, 
on board the battleship Missouri, twenty minutes before 
the meal was served, and requested the captain to ar- 
range a table for us with the men. He begged that we 
would lunch with him, but, with the approval of Mr. 
Roosevelt, I insisted that we should dine with the crew, 
which we did. The captain wanted to give us cut-glass 
tumblers to drink from and napkins from his cabin, 
which I said he might do, provided he did the same for 
every man at all the mess tables ! We drank out of the 
same kind of mugs that the men used, and we did with- 
out napkins. We ate exactly the same food that the men 
ate, and it was served in exactly the same way by one of 
the mess men who served them. The meal was an ex- 
cellent one, much enjoyed by all of us, and when it was 
over a petty officer came forward with a box of cigars 
and said : " The crew of the Missouri beg that you will 
have a smoke with them ! " I afterwards found that 
this custom of dining with the men occasionally had a 
most desirable effect in more ways than one. 

After two months of trying work in Cape Cod Bay 
the ships were sent to different ports and leave given to 
the crews. Many officers were changed and new men 
taken in the places of those whose time had expired. 
About half the gun pointers who had done such excel- 
lent work on the targets left us, and new ones had to 
be educated. Officers who had never served in squad- 
ron, from captains down to the junior grades, reported 
for duty, and thus, with practically new crews, we left 
Hampton Roads for our winter's work in the West 
Indies. It was the same old story of beginning at the 

379 



An Admiral's Log 

preliminary stage again and then working up. In one 
respect, however, we were in better condition than ever 
before — our gun sights were at last satisfactory. 

Our work at Guantanamo was a repetition of that 
of previous years, but of course on a larger scale, as the 
number of ships had been increased by the addition of 
four new battleships. The division of cruisers, under 
Admiral Brownson, had gone to the East, and had been 
replaced by a division of battleships under Rear-Ad- 
miral Emory. The fleet thus organised was composed 
of sixteen battleships and one tender, the Yankton, 
without any cruisers. The change from squadron to 
fleet organisation imposed severe work on the officers 
of the staff, but it was done with thoroughness and 
despatch. 

In addition to our other work, we were now called 
upon to prepare for the Jamestown Exposition, at which 
we were to play a leading part. The officials of this 
Exposition had invited, through the Department of 
State, or, more properly speaking, the Department of 
State had, at the request of the Exposition officials, in- 
vited foreign governments to send their fleets to Hamp- 
ton Roads to take part in the opening ceremonies of the 
Exposition. All these foreign officers thus became the 
guests of the United States, and the Atlantic Fleet was 
to see to it that they were properly entertained. This, 
of course, we knew how to do, and felt confident of suc- 
cess, as Congress had appropriated one hundred and 
twenty-five thousand dollars ** for entertaining foreign 
officers." They forgot, apparently, about the people of 
the United States who would have to be entertained at 
the same time and place, for no mention was made of 

380 



The Jamestown Exposition 

them, and the officers of the fleet entertained them, and, 
as usual, paid the bills out of their own pockets. 

As I have stated, we knew how to entertain foreign 
officers, for we had been doing that at intervals all our 
lives, but when the order came that we were to make a 
success of the Jamestown Exposition we had to face an 
entirely new line of business in which none of us had 
had previous experience. We were ready, however, as 
we always are, to do our best to carry out our orders, 
and, as we were anxious for its success, we entered 
heart and soul into our new work of assisting the Expo- 
sition. 

My orders were to arrive with the fleet at Hampton 
Roads on May 15th, and when our work ofif Cape Cruz 
had been completed I sailed for the north, and anchored 
in the Roads at 2 p.m. of the day stated. On the way 
up from Guantanamo I used every available hour to 
whip the new ships into shape. They had reported to 
me, one after another, and this was my only chance 
to give them any fleet drill before taking them to their 
anchorage. South of Hatteras we had a bit of a blow, 
which gave us all a chance to see how well the new ones 
behaved in a heavy head sea. They were wet, of course, 
as we expected them to be, but I was satisfied that even 
in much worse weather than we experienced they could 
have used their heavy guns with effect. 

Upon arrival I moored the vessels of the fleet in 
single column, extending from a point off Fort Monroe 
three miles toward Newport News. The president of 
the Exposition company, with a committee of much be- 
ribboned gentlemen, called on me at once, congratulated 
me on the appearance of the fleet, and gave me a glow- 

381 



An Admiral's Log 

ing account of the state of readiness for the opening- 
day exercises. Incidentally they told me what my part 
in the matter was to be, or rather they started to do so, 
when I saved them time and trouble by telling them 
that I was quite well posted on that part of the pro- 
gramme. If talk could have made a success of the 
much-heralded Exposition, certainly these charming, 
fluent gentlemen of Virginia had the talk on tap. A 
glance at Sewell's Point through a powerful glass con- 
vinced me that there had been more talk than work, 
and that it would require the best efforts of all parties 
to make anything but a dismal failure of the opening 
exercises. 

Captain Pillsbury, my chief of staff, had prepared a 
chart of Hampton Roads showing the anchorages as- 
signed to all the vessels which were expected to be pres- 
ent, and this had been printed by the Navy Department 
and was ready for distribution. Lieutenant-Com- 
mander Lloyd Chandler, an officer of exceptional abil- 
ity, had been ordered to my personal staff to relieve 
Lieutenant-Commander Brittain, whose term of sea 
service had expired. Mr. Chandler had commanded the 
flotilla of torpedo-boat destroyers sent to the East, was 
an expert in all torpedo work, and in his long and faith- 
ful service as my aide and secretary proved himself a 
loyal friend, as well as an officer of marked ability in all 
branches of his profession. To him was given the im- 
portant duty of piloting all foreign ships to their posi- 
tions and seeing them properly moored. This was in 
addition to his regular duties on my staff, and if any 
one worked harder than he I can't imagine who it was. 
A torpedo boat was always ready for him, and in her 

382 



Arrival of Foreign Ships 

he spent much of his time waiting off Cape Henry for 
the arrival of the foreign ships. As they came he 
boarded each, in company with the pilot, and either ex- 
plained exactly where they were to moor or else came 
in with them and remained on board until they were 
properly secured. 

All the visiting ships had arrived several days before 
the date fixed for the opening of the Exposition, and 
the combined fleet made a fine appearance, stretching 
in two long lines up the beautiful harbour. Our own 
fleet, composed of sixteen battleships and four armoured 
cruisers, was the strongest navaL force ever assembled 
in Hampton Roads. Of the foreign ships, the English 
were the most imposing in number, but the others were 
all of the latest design in their respective classes. All 
of them, without exception, were in the pink of condi- 
tion, reflecting great credit on their officers and men. 

As the time approached for the opening ceremonies, 
the detail of landing parties to march in the parade and 
be reviewed by the President was worked out in every 
particular. The precedence of each was stated, the 
number of officers and men to land from each foreign 
ship was given, and a diagram published showing just 
where the force of each nation would be found on 
shore, so that the curious observers might easily recog- 
nise them. When all this had been done, I visited the 
Exposition grounds to inspect the facilities for landing 
such a large number of men, and to my dismay found 
that the landing stages had been only projected, like 
many other things that had been promised and fluently 
talked about, but that was all. We did not officially 
object to landing our own officers and men on the open 

383 



An Admiral's Log 

shore in the mud and sand and having them pass before 
the President wet to their waists, although we did not 
hke such a performance, but I did object to asking our 
guests to do so. I therefore sent notice to the Exposi- 
tion officials that unless the landing stages were in 
place, completed, the day before the opening, I would 
notify all foreign officers that their men would not be 
expected to land. This had some effect, no doubt, and 
all the bluejackets except our own reached the parade 
ground with dry feet. 

General F. D. Grant, of the United States army, 
had been sent to Fortress Monroe to represent the War 
Department and to do the shore part of the entertain- 
ing. He established his headquarters at the Chamber- 
lin Hotel, from which point, through his aides, he kept 
in touch with what was taking place on the water. It 
was arranged that I should land the President and his 
distinguished party at the Exposition grounds, and that 
then the general and I would personally accompany the 
Executive to the stand from which he was to deliver his 
address, to remain with him until after the troops had 
passed in review, when I was to see that he was safely 
returned to the Mayflower. 

When the President arrived and had reviewed the 
fleet, I took him and his party ashore in my barge, prop- 
erly protected by an escort of steam launches. All the 
bluejackets had been landed and were in their places. 
At eleven o'clock, the hour set, I delivered Mr. Roose- 
velt to General Grant on the landing at the Exposition 
grounds — eleven o'clock exactly, not one second before 
or one second after. Much to our surprise, the Presi- 
dent and Mrs. Roosevelt were placed in a vehicle 

384 



Late for Ceremonies 

together, and with them some of the officials of the Ex- 
position. When they had driven away between the 
ranks of saluting soldiers, more vehicles came, which 
were instantly filled by distinguished-looking commit- 
teemen in immaculate Prince Albert suits and the latest 
cut of gafftopsail hats. After considerable delay, Gen- 
eral Grant and I were pushed up into the seats of a 
very high trap of some sort, and the driver was re- 
quested to get on as fast as he could, that we might 
regain our proper post next to the President. The 
driver, a fine specimen of the coloured race, cracked his 
whip and the horses started, but not so the trap; that 
remained stationary in the deep, loose sand. " This 
here trace done bust!" said the driver. A glance at 
the harness, which had been tied up with rope, showed 
that it had " busted," and there was nothing left for us 
but to climb down from our lofty perch and find some 
other vehicle in which to cross the six or eight hundred 
yards of sand. Our second effort was in a Norfolk 
" hack," in which, by the aid of a friendly army officer 
and some soldiers, who thumped the horses in the ribs 
with the butt ends of their muskets, we progressed 
about two hundred yards, when we were stopped by 
the crowd which had passed the lines of soldiers and 
filled the space between us and the reviewing stand. 
There was nothing for it now but to walk, which we 
did, escorted by two sympathising committeemen. The 
crowd of tide-water Virginians was good-humoured, 
fortunately, and helped us along as best they could, but 
we were quite half an hour late when we arrived in 
front of the stand, where the Bishop of Virginia was 
delivering his eloquent prayer. The general and I 

385 



%;^ 



An Admiral's Log* 

stood bareheaded in the blazing sun, with the perspira- 
tion pouring down on the fronts of our full-dress coats, 
and were glad when the prayer was ended and we could 
find cover in the shade, where a vast concourse of dis- 
tinguished men of all nations waited to hear what the 
President would say in his opening address. By some 
mistake, enough seats for the members of the various 
committees had not been provided, and to correct this 
camp chairs were passed up and placed in the spaces set 
aside for the President and his party. The chairs be- 
came so thick after a while that one could neither stand 
up nor sit down with comfort, and before the opening 
address could be delivered they had to be removed, 
which was done with difficulty and required much time. 
The President finally delivered his address, which was 
received with enthusiastic applause by the crowd, and 
afterwards caused much comment throughout the 
country. 

At a late hour in the afternoon I took the President 
and his party back to the Mayflower, and that night 
had the honour of meeting him at a beautiful dinner 
given by the president of the Exposition company in 
Norfolk. One of the foreign ambassadors expressed, 
in a few words, what I think we all felt about the open- 
ing day. I congratulated him on having stood the 
fatigue so well. His reply was, " Yes, I am alive, but 
only because, as a cat, I have nine lives ! " It certainly 
was a trying day, but a most successful one for the 
Exposition, in view of the fact that they were anything 
but ready for such a ceremony. The government did 
all it had promised to do or could have been expected 
to do. The foreign ships were in the Roads, and their 

386 



Continuous Entertainments 

crews marched in the parade; the West Point cadets 
were camped in the Exposition grounds with other reg- 
ular troops; the midshipmen from Annapohs were 
landed from the practice ships to take part in the 
parade ; and a naval brigade of five thousand men from 
the American fleet, the smartest-looking body of men I 
ever saw, marched past the reviewing stand. In a 
word, as I have said, the government part of the job 
was perfectly done. In the evening the assembled fleets 
were electrically illuminated, as were the grounds and 
buildings of the Exposition. As we returned to the 
Roads from the dinner in Norfolk, just before mid- 
night, the scene was one of exquisite beauty. 

Day after day, week after week, and month after 
month the ships of the Atlantic Fleet swung at their an- 
chors in Hampton Roads, while officers and men de- 
voted their time and their money to make a success of 
the Jamestown Exposition, as they were ordered to do. 
A detail of officers escorted the foreign officers to 
Washington, showed them the interesting sights of the 
city, and returned them to their ships, while the blue- 
jackets were landed on all important occasions for 
parades and reviews. Each day saw an entertainment 
of some kind on one or more of the American ships, 
and details of officers were hurriedly sent to various 
points on shore in response to belated invitations to 
dance and make merry for the benefit of the Exposi- 
tion. We did everything that could have been reason- 
ably expected of us, because, in the first place, we were 
ordered to do so, and, in the second, because we wanted 
the Exposition to prove a success. 

Congress had appropriated a generous sum for the 
387 



An Admiral's Log 

entertainment of foreign officers, but, curiously enough, 
had made no provision for our own people. It may be 
truly said that our people were the guests of the Expo- 
sition, while the foreigners were the guests of the na- 
tion, and for this reason one class was entertained by 
the government and the other by the Exposition com- 
pany. All foreign officers were sent to Washington in 
parties, escorted by a suitable number of our own, and 
when they had seen what could be shown them they were 
returned to their ships, and all expenses paid by the 
government. But for the thousands of our own people 
who visited the ships from day to day no provision was 
made, and the cost of entertaining them fell upon the 
officers, many of whom could ill afford the expense this 
entailed. 

During the stay of the foreign ships a series of din- 
ners was given on board the Connecticut, my flagship, 
until all the ranking officers had been dined. At the 
same time the junior officers of the visiting ships were 
entertained by those of corresponding rank in our ships, 
so that every officer, no matter of what rank, received 
the hospitality of the government through the officers 
of the American fleet. The expense for all this enter- 
tainment, as well as the trip to Washington, was paid 
by the paymaster of the fleet on the presentation of 
properly prepared vouchers, just as any other public 
bill was paid, which was in every way proper and just. 
But Congress in its wisdom had failed to make any 
provision for the entertainment of our own people, and 
^ for this we had to pay out of our own pockets, which 
was a hardship to many young officers who had no in- 
come beyond their salaries, 

388 



Duke of Abruzzi's Reception 

The foreign ships in turn gave beautiful receptions 
and entertainments, but these were government affairs, 
paid for with pubHc funds. The officers were not called 
upon to pay for what their governments were doing. 
Officers of the Exposition and other distinguished 
Americans- could be, and were, entertained by these 
foreign officers as guests of their respective govern- 
ments, and the bills paid as were other public bills. 
The senior officer of the Italian squadron, the Duke 
of Abruzzi, gave a fine reception with unfortunate re- 
sults. How he prepared his list of invitations was not 
made known to me; I was only aware by the great 
crowd on board that it was a very general one. His 
cabin and the quarters of the ward-room officers were 
assigned as dressing-rooms for the ladies, and were 
crowded for several hours. When the guests had de- 
parted it was found that about everything movable had 
gone with them — jewelry, combs and brushes, and the 
insignia of rank from the officers' uniforms had van- 
ished in the pockets of the souvenir hunters who are al- 
ways on hand at such times. Many articles of value 
bearing the coat of arms of the Duke disappeared in this 
way. Most of them were, however, returned when the 
newspapers of the country had expressed their views of 
this style of robbery. We had had our experience with 
these souvenir hunters in past years and took precau- 
tions against them. 

The visiting ships took part eagerly with our men 
in all the sports arranged by the Exposition officials. 
The English and Italians won cups or medals and the 
former, with a fine crew from the Argyle, won the con- 
test for the Battenberg Cup, and the name of that ship 
26 389 



An Admiral's Log 

was engraved on the beautiful trophy. The American 
officers won handily from all competitors, and in the 
sailing races the honours remained with our men. In 
the boxing bouts, sixteen of which were held on the 
flagship Connecticut, between our men and representa- 
tives from the English ships, only one of the visitors 
was declared the winner. 

When the time finally came for the foreign ships to 
leave the Roads, we parted with them with great regret. 
Many friendships had been formed which, I trust, will 
be lasting and tend to the preservation of peace among 
the nations of the earth, which we all sincerely hope for. 

During the time we had been anchored in Hampton 
Roads the men had been granted liberty as often as 
they could be spared from duty, but there was so much 
to be done that they had not seen much of the shore 
except when marching in parade. I therefore sent the 
ships to New York by divisions and sent the men on 
leave from that port. This called forth a protest from 
some of the Exposition people, but the Department 
upheld me in my action. I again incurred the ill-will 
of the same parties when I sent the divisions to sea one 
after another for a few days' practice. The long stay 
in port, with the constant stream of visitors on board 
from morning till night, had a demoralising effect on the 
crews, particularly on those of the new ships just com- 
missioned. It was only natural that they should think 
that naval life was all like what they were seeing while 
at anchor, which consisted in showing visitors over the 
ship, coaling ship, and running boats. It was essential, 
in my judgment, that some real sea work should be 
done, and it seemed to me that four battleships and 

390 



A Welcome Relief 

four cruisers were enough to remain at anchor as show 
ships while the others exercised outside, off Cape 
Henry. In this I was, of course, opposed by the Expo- 
sition officials, but I was again supported by the Navy 
Department. I regretted that my action should call 
down on my head so much unmerited disapproval from 
the press, but an officer often has to put up with that 
kind of treatment if he allows his sense of duty to inter- 
fere with the designs of those outside the service who 
differ with him, and in some cases wish to use him. 

The time finally came when the Exposition closed, 
and candour compels me to say that every officer and 
man in the American fleet was glad when the flags came 
down and the gates were closed. We felt that, while 
we had done all in our power for its success, we had 
been associated, from the opening day, with a failure. 
Our efforts had been appreciated by the visitors, but 
not by the officials, and we were glad to the bottom of 
our hearts when we could weigh anchor and find more 
congenial work out on blue water. 



CHAPTER XXIX 

PREPARING FOR THE PACIFIC CRUISE 

Some time during the summer, I think in the 
month of June, a leading New York newspaper pub- 
Hshed, under glaring headlines, a statement that the 
President had decided to send the Atlantic Fleet to San 
Francisco. The following day another leading paper 
denied this, and then the press of the country divided 
and a merry newspaper war followed. One side held 
that the President, in view of the friction on the Pacific 
coast over the school question with Japan, would not 
dare make such a move ; that it would mean immediate 
war with Japan. The other side held that the Presi- 
dent wanted war with Japan, and accused him of using 
this method of bringing it about, and that if the fleet 
sailed with the west coast as its objective, war would 
follow before we reached the Straits of Magellan. At 
first I placed little importance on these stories, because 
I felt that if such a movement of the fleet was in con- 
templation I should naturally be one of the first to 
know of it, but as time passed I was convinced that 
where there was so much smoke there must be some 
fire. 

In due time I was sent for, and on reporting at the 
Navy Department was informed in confidence that the 
fleet was to sail for the Pacific when the annual target 

392 



Mr. Metcalf's Announcement 

practice had been completed, and that I was to make 
such preparation as could be made without disclosing 
its destination. I had spent many days and nights over 
a schedule of drills for the fall and winter, but now I 
must destroy that and work out a new one. 

The Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, Rear-Ad- 
miral Converse, was relieved at this time by Rear- 
Admiral Brownson, a warm personal friend of the 
President, who, although about to go onto the retired 
list, was called home from command in China to fill 
this important office. At the same time my chief of 
staff. Captain J. E. Pillsbury, who had done such ad- 
mirable work in the fleet, was relieved, and my old 
friend. Captain R. R. Ingersoll, ordered in his place. 
Other changes in my staff took place, so that I found 
myself on the eve of a long cruise with many new 
faces about me. 

The newspaper war was brought to a close on July 
4th, when the Secretary of the Navy, Mr. Metcalf, an- 
nounced in a public speech at Oakland, Cal., that the 
fleet would come to San Francisco at an early date. The 
press of the country again divided, this time as to the 
propriety of the proposed movement of the fleet. One 
side held that it would be a good thing to do, and the 
other was equally sure that It would inevitably cause war 
with Japan. Some went so far as to demand that Con- 
gress should so arrange the naval appropriations that 
the President would be unable to carry out his scheme. 
Many influential papers seemed to me unaccountably 
ignorant of the fact that, when Mr. Roosevelt made up 
his mind to do a thing that he thought right to do, nei- 
ther newspaper abuse nor congressional action would 

393 



An Admiral's Log 

prevent him from doing it. Monkeying with a buzz 
saw is always of doubtful propriety, and that was pre- 
cisely what these opposition newspapers were doing. 
If they had sought a means of sending the Atlantic 
Fleet to the Pacific, they could not have found a surer 
one. 

During the month of August, while exercising a 
squadron off Cape Henry, I received telegraphic orders 
to proceed to Oyster Bay and report to the President, 
which I did as quickly as railroad trains could take me 
there. I found Mr. Newberry, Acting Secretary of the 
Navy, and Admiral Brownson in consultation with the 
President. The whole subject of the cruise to the 
Pacific was thoroughly gone over by Mr. Roosevelt, 
who impressed upon us many times that the cruise was 
to be a peaceful one, solely for the benefit of officers 
and men, but at the same time he made it plain that cir- 
cumstances might arise which would change this condi- 
tion into one more serious. The strength of various 
naval forces was discussed and compared with ours, 
and after three hours* talk I was directed to have the 
fleet in readiness to sail from Fortress Monroe on De- 
cember 1 6th. I was asked if I considered it desirable 
that the six destroyers should make the trip at the same 
time with the battleships, to which I replied that I was 
strongly of the opinion that they should ; and it was so 
ordered. I also declared my opinion that the ships 
should proceed to the west coast via the Straits of 
Magellan rather than through the Suez Canal, to which 
the President gave his assent. My opinion was neither 
asked nor given on any other points ; there was no rea- 
son why it should have been. The question of where 

394 



Oyster Bay Conference 

the fleet should go, or what it should do when it ar- 
rived, were questions for the President and his advisers 
to settle. My business was to see that the ships were 
ready to sail when ordered to do so and to conduct 
them safely to their destination. 

After the Oyster Bay conference I returned at once 
to my flagship in Hampton Roads. The Exposition 
had not yet closed, and I had to await that event before 
I could move all the ships at the same time. Of the six- 
teen battleships composing the Atlantic Fleet, ten were 
new. Six of these had not yet completed their bat- 
teries, and two were not in all respects finished by the 
contractors. As a fleet the whole number of ships had 
never been under way together and had never per- 
formed a single evolution at sea. To start on a cruise 
of fourteen thousand miles with a fleet in this condition 
was out of the question, and I made my plans to give 
them as much preliminary drill as might be possible be- 
fore going to Cape Cod Bay for the target practice 
which had been ordered to be completed before we 
sailed. 

I was somewhat hampered by the expressed desire 
of the Department that we should practice battle tactics 
instead of doing the preliminary work I had laid out. 
Some very influential newspapers were demanding that 
we should divide the fleet into two squadrons and pit 
them against each other as though actually engaged in 
battle. This was done by the press, I suppose, with the 
best intentions, but without due consideration of the 
state of readiness of the new ships for such work. As 
has always been my custom, I gave my opinion fully 
when it was asked, and then did as I was told. 

395 



An Admiral's Log 

The day the Exposition closed I went to sea witK 
the fleet, and for three days drilled as a fleet. Then 
the two squadrons, commanded by flag officers, 
manoeuvred against each other, and during this work 
the conditions were made as like those of actual 
war as they could be. A large number of officers had 
come from Washington, Annapolis, and the War Col- 
lege to witness the battle practice, and I am sure most 
of them were convinced not only of the folly, but of the 
actual danger to the ships of undertaking such evolu- 
tions without proper and systematic preliminary work. 
Each morning at daylight one squadron went to sea, 
and when out of sight the other got under way 
and sought them. When sighted, the two squadrons 
manoeuvred for position and then engaged in battle. 
Umpires on each ship kept a careful record of all move- 
ments, and when a ship was supposed to be disabled by 
gun fire or torpedoes she was compelled to cease firing 
and drop out of action. It was practically the same 
kind of work we had done in the West Indies, only 
there it was done with thoroughly drilled ships, and 
here we were using newly commissioned ships, with 
officers and men who had never seen the simplest evo- 
lution performed by a fleet. 

When the flag officers had each commanded a 
squadron in several engagements, the command was 
turned over to the captains, and they in succession went 
through the same experience. Much valuable informa- 
tion was gained, the most important of which was how 
easily one ship could blanket the fire of another when 
not properly handled. It was also plainly evident that 
unless the captain could put his ship where the com- 

396 



Preparations for the Pacific 

mander-in-chief ordered her to go, and keep her there, 
disaster was likely to follow, and this ability to handle 
the ship came only after long and careful drill. It was 
impossible for newly commissioned ships to do it, and 
it was unreasonable to expect them to. 

All the time possible was given to this battle drill 
off the Virginia Capes, and the fleet then proceeded to 
the target range in Cape Cod Bay. For the first time 
in our service we were to have a real battle practice, 
and, that it might be as beneficial as possible, the guns 
were first calibrated. It was also the first time in our 
navy that guns had been calibrated either for target 
practice or for actual service. 

Upon arrival at Cape Cod Bay, it was considered 
that the first part of the preparation for the cruise to 
the Pacific had been completed — at least all the time 
that could be spared had been given it. The question 
of battle target practice was at once taken up, and no 
time was lost in doing this most important work. At 
the last moment, much to my regret, it was decided that 
two of the new ships must go immediately to the navy 
yards, as there was barely time to complete them before 
the date set for sailing. 

While I was convinced iHat the cruise was to be a 
peaceful one, I was also perfectly certain that it might 
at any moment develop into a warlike one. Therefore, 
to start with one or two battleships in the fleet which 
had never fired their guns, even to test the sights, did 
not seem to me businesslike, yet it had to be done, and 
was done. It was my job and my responsibility, ren- 
dered greater by many discouraging obstacles and 
handicaps, to see that this fleet, though on the most 

397 



An Admiral's Log 

peaceful mission possible, was ready to fight at the drop 
of a hat. 

I find it difficult to describe target practice in a way 
to be easily understood by the layman without violating 
the orders of the Navy Department not to give out in- 
formation on professional subjects. However, what I 
shall write may be found in publications issued from the 
Department and not marked " confidential," and there- 
fore, I hope, not in violation of the spirit of the regula- 
tions. 

First, we have what is called record target practice, 
in which a careful record of each shot fired is kept and 
reported to the Department. This firing is done in the 
most careful way, one gun only being fired at a time, 
except in the case of turret guns, when two of them 
may be fired at the same time. The actual firing of the 
gun is done by the gun pointer, the man who would do 
the firing in time of war, under the general charge of 
the officer of his gim division on board the ship. Um- 
pires are appointed who, under the most carefully pre- 
pared rules, watch the loading and firing of each gun 
and note any mistakes that may be made. This firing 
is for the purpose of rating the gun pointers, who re- 
ceive extra pay if they make a certain percentage of 
hits on the target. Having once made this percentage, 
the pointer must, at each succeeding practice, maintain 
at least his rate of hitting or his extra pay is discon- 
tinued. To determine this important point annual 
practice is necessary. 

When the target, a canvas screen seventeen feet 
long by twelve feet high, is spread on a float, previously 
moored for the purpose, the firing begins. The captain 

398 



Target Practice Described 

runs his ship over one side of a triangle, so that the 
distance from the target varies from about two thou- 
sand yards to sixteen hundred yards when at the near- 
est point. A signal to commence firing is given, and 
each gun pointer is allowed to fire as many shots as he 
can in a given time. Only hits on the target screen are 
counted. When both gun pointers at a gun have fired, 
or in the case of turret gtins the pointers of two guns, 
the ship leaves the range and passes near the target, so 
that the result of the firing may be seen and the hits 
recorded. In this way every g^n pointer in the ship 
takes his turn, and the practice is continued until every 
gun in the ship has been fired. Service smokeless pow- 
der is used, but, in order to reduce the expense as much 
as possible, special cast-iron shells are used instead of 
the steel service projectile, which is of much greater 
cost. 

This practice, as I have stated, is entirely for the 
purpose of training and testing the gun pointers, and 
has nothing whatever to do with battle target practice 
except to ensure the greatest possible percentage of hits. 
It will be seen at once that the element of time is here of 
the greatest value ; the pointer making the greatest num- 
ber of hits in the same time is considered the best shot. 
The term " hits per gun per minute " is its official des- 
ignation. Having gone through with this practice suc- 
cessfully, the ship is eligible for battle target practice. 

However, before this record practice each ship must 
have gone through with preliminary practice, in which 
the time element does not count. Each pointer must 
fire a certain number of shots, no matter how long it 
may take him. This is a proper test of the guns and 

399 



An Admiral's Log 

their mounts, as well as a necessary preparation for the 
more rapid firing of the record practice. 

Finally we come to the battle target practice, which 
was held for the first time in this fleet in Cape Cod Bay 
during the last weeks of September and the first of 
October, 1907. The object of this practice was to see 
what the gims could do on a target representing an 
enemy found at sea under war conditions. Two tar- 
gets, each thirty feet by thirty feet, were moored to- 
gether in the bay, practically out of sight of land, and 
the ships in turn sent out to fire at them, using all the 
guns that would bear. 

The range was unknown, and had to be determined 
by the range finders of the ship, just as they would de- 
termine the range of an enemy's ship found at sea in 
time of war. No firing was allowed inside a range of 
six thousand yards, and after the first shot was fired the 
distance from the target was constantly increased until 
the time for firing had expired. Then the ship steamed 
to the target and the hits were counted. When you 
consider that at the distance given above, the range 
must be known within less than one hundred yards or 
the shot will miss the target, an idea may be formed of 
the difficulties under which we labour. 

After the kinds of target practice touched on above, 
we still have a very important one to consider — night 
firing, in which the targets are supposed to represent 
torpedo boats making an attack on the ship. In this 
practice, which is the most exciting and trying of 
all, only the torpedo defence guns — ^that is to say, the 
guns of the secondary battery — are used. During all 
this firing the officers and men have practically no rec- 

400 



Fire Control 

reation. It is work of the hardest kind from dayhght 
until dark, and frequently from dark until daylight. A 
large party of officers and men must at all times be 
afloat in boats to look after and repair the target 
frames, change the screens, and mark the shot holes on 
them, etc., and these men are constantly drenched with 
salt water and their faces blistered with the sun. 

Yet you never hear a word of complaint from them 
— they know too well the vital necessity of such train- 
ing. 

When all the firing had been completed, the fleet 
was sent immediately to the navy yards at Boston, New 
York, Philadelphia, and Norfolk, to be docked and 
cleaned and made ready for the start. Orders were 
imperative that no work should be done except such as 
was absolutely necessary for cruising efficiency, and all 
officers understood that they were not to allow any 
grass to grow under their feet. 

During the target practice in Massachusetts Bay, the 
subject of fire control — that is, the efficient control of 
the fire of all the guns of the battery — the most impor- 
tant of all the intricate problems to be solved, was thor- 
oughly gone into. Many different systems of control 
had been installed on board ships of the fleet, generally 
by the officers and men of the ships, and these were 
exhaustively tried out. Finally, a board of ordnance 
experts, all of them seagoing officers of experience, was 
appointed by me to consider the whole subject of fire 
control and report fully at the earliest practicable mo- 
ment. This board sat for many days, visited all the 
ships of the fleet, inspected the various systems in use, 
and then made an able and exhaustive report, which 

401 



/ An Admiral's Log 

was approved and sent to Washington. Mr. Newberry, 
the active and energetic Assistant Secretary of the 
Navy, gave it his personal attention, and as a result 
orders were given for the system recommended by the 
board to be installed on all the vessels of the fleet. It 
was found that the work was so extensive and of such 
a character that it could not be completed before the 
day set for sailing, but the necessary material to com- 
plete it was put on board, and the officers and men 
could, and did, complete it in each ship before we ar- 
rived in the Pacific. 

To the layman neither the importance of this work 
nor the enormous amount of it can be made clear. I 
may say, however, that the hitting power of the guns 
depends absolutely upon the efficiency of the fire con- 
trol, and that to install such a system miles of wire had 
to be run in each ship, and all this wire had to be most 
carefully placed to prevent short circuits and other evils 
of which the layman can form no idea. Then hundreds 
of telephones and receivers had to be procured and in- 
stalled. In addition to this work, it was decided that 
each vessel of the fleet should be fitted with the newly 
invented wireless telephone. This installation was im- 
mediately taken in hand, but, like the fire control, it 
was not completed in time, and we put to sea with 
the remaining work to be done by the officers and 
men of the fleet. An expert from the contractor went 
with us as far as Trinidad and did all he could to as- 
sist us. 

With the ships crowded into the navy yards for re- 
pairs, the officers and men found their surroundings 
most uncomfortable. As many as possible were sent on 

402 



Navy- Yard Conditions 

leave, but the remaining ones had a hard time of it. 
Above all things, an American bluejacket likes a clean 
place to eat, a clean place to sleep, and a chance to keep 
himself clean and smart; in other words, he loves a 
clean ship, and he is unhappy if he cannot have it. That 
these conditions should always prevail on a vessel of 
war goes without saying, but it is a fact which none 
can deny that they do not exist on a vessel under re- 
pairs at a navy yard ; the conditions are such as to ren- 
der cleanliness and comfort impossible. 

A ship goes to a navy yard spick and span — every- 
thing clean and neat and the men happy and contented ; 
then a gang of workmen in dirty overalls is rushed on 
board, and trouble begins at once. Things are pulled to 
pieces here and there, dirt covers the decks, men are 
hustled about, and in many cases driven from their 
usual quarters, and discomfort takes charge. The fam- 
ilies and friends of the crew come on board in great 
numbers, only to find themselves out of place, and this 
very soon brings complaint and discontent. If it be 
winter — and this was the case with the Atlantic Fleet — 
the suffering of the crew is great, not only from cold, 
but because the decks cannot in many cases be scrubbed, 
and the dirt accumulates until both the oflficers and men 
are ashamed of their ships, and well they may be. People 
sometimes wonder at the number of desertions in the 
navy. If they knew the conditions as I know them, and 
have so many times seen them, I think the wonder 
would be that there are not more. The old hands who 
have seen service and know what discipline means have 
the happy faculty of making the best of what they 
know will be a short period of much discomfort and 

403 



An Admiral's Log 

dirt, but the new ones who come to the ship for the 
first time naturally assume that this is the normal con- 
dition of ship life, and many of them " jump " at the 
first opportunity. The wonder to me is that more of 
them do not desert. 

It may seem to the reader that the Navy Depart- 
ment might somehow correct the evils complained of, 
but the Department is as helpless as a jellyfish. Al- 
though backed as it is by the opinion of the ablest offi- 
cers in the service, more than once expressed in official 
reports, it cannot build barracks and furnish them with- 
out money, and money can only be had through act of 
Congress. Some day we hope Congress will realise the 
crying necessity for large, comfortable barracks at each 
navy yard, with reading-rooms and proper dormitories 
— in other words, a decent home for the men. Then a 
ship going to a yard for repairs can transfer her crew 
to the barracks, house and feed them comfortably, and 
detail each day a sufficient number of men to guard 
properly the property on the ship, while the rest of the 
crew, after the necessary morning drills, can receive 
their friends or enjoy their shore leave. 

One of the most important preparations for the 
cruise to the Pacific was so to arrange the crews of the 
ships that the times of enlistment of the men would not 
expire before the return to an Atlantic port, and so save 
the government much money in the matter of trans- 
portation, as each man must be returned to his place of 
enlistment when his term of service expires. The De- 
partment decided that all those who had only a certain 
short term to serve should be transferred to receiving 
ships and their places filled by apprentice seamen from 

404 



The Food Question 

the training stations at Newport and Norfolk. This 
took from us many of our best men, some of them petty 
officers and many of them gun pointers, but all of them 
highly drilled and well disciplined. In their stead came 
a trim lot of young lads, most of them from the farms 
of the middle west, who had been hastily whipped into 
shape at the training stations. But with these drafts 
also came many raw recruits who had practically no 
training — who, in fact, had only been enlisted a few 
weeks. The number of men transferred from the fleet 
was so large that every man from the training stations 
was needed to fill their vacancies. I am sure that a 
finer lot of men was never seen in the navy than those 
sent out of the fleet to the receiving ships on this occa- 
sion, and one can easily imagine the feeling of regret 
with which the captains of the ships saw them go. The 
important and all-absorbing question was how to make 
the new ones as efficient as the old ones had been at the 
earliest possible moment. 

The question of feeding so many men for so long a 
cruise was a vital one. In case of absolute necessity — 
war, for instance — we could do as we did in the Civil 
War — live on hard tack, " salt horse " (salt beef), and 
salt bacon; but the navy had come to look on fresh 
bread every day and fresh meat at least four days in a 
week as a necessity. We had found that it was cheaper 
to feed the men well and keep them in good health 
than to feed them on insufficient food, pay the hospital 
bills, and afterwards the pensions. Above all this 
was the vital consideration of keeping them fit for 
the very exhausting work that fell to them on board 
ship, and to have them ready at all times to fight 
27 405 



An Admiral's Log 

the guns if that became necessary. In other words, 
good food meant good men — certainly not a new dis- 
covery. 

To meet the demands of the occasion, the Depart- 
ment utihsed the two naval supply ships, Glacier and 
Culgoa. These vessels were entirely overhauled at the 
New York yard, their refrigerating plants were thor- 
oughly refitted, their cold-storage rooms tested, and all 
their ordinary store-rooms put in perfect condition. 
Then they were packed as full of stores of various 
kinds as they could hold. It may be of interest to the 
reader to note among these stores the following: 
Flour, 675,000 pounds; cornmeal, 16,000 pounds; oat- 
meal, 6,000 pounds; rolled oats, 10,000 pounds; rice, 
30,000 pounds; barley, 5,000 pounds; cornstarch, 3,500 
pounds; hominy, 6,000 pounds; tapioca, 6,000 pounds; 
turkey for Christmas dinner, 40,000 pounds ; fresh beef, 
850,000 pounds; mutton, 65,000 pounds; pork loins, 
140,000 pounds; veal, 100,000 pounds; frankfurters, 
55,000 pounds; Bologna sausage, 35,000 pounds; fresh 
sausage, 45,000 pounds; head cheese, 30,000 pounds; 
smoked ham, 120,000 pounds; tinned ham, 30,000 
pounds; eggs, fresh, 10,000 dozen; eggs, dried, equiv- 
alent of 9,000 dozen; onions, 140,000 pounds; fresh 
potatoes, 500,000 pounds; tinned tomatoes, 170,000 
pounds; tinned peaches, 45,000 pounds; butter, 15,000 
pounds; jams, 10,000 pounds; jellies, 6,000 pounds; 
nuts, 6,000 pounds; raisins, 8,000 pounds; coffee, 
60,000 pounds ; tea, 8,000 pounds ; condensed milk, 75,- 
000 pounds; evaporated milk, 14,000 pounds; pickles, 
7,000 pounds; sauerkraut, 30,000 pounds; catsup, 
2,500 pounds; baking powder, 1,600 pounds; sugar, 

406 



Supplies for the Ships 

150,000 pounds; cheese, 20,000 pounds; lard, 40,000 
pounds; salt, 25,000 pounds; salt-water soap, 110,000 
pounds; plug tobacco, 15,000 pounds. This list is 
made from a list of ninety articles put on board the 
supply ships. In addition, there were luxuries of all 
sorts. Each ship of the fleet had cold-storage rooms, 
and these were filled to their utmost capacity with fresh 
meat the day before sailing. The amount taken varied 
from 10,000 pounds in the older ships to 30,000 pounds 
in the new ones, and this was, of course, in addition to 
the supplies carried in the store-ships. Each ship also 
had an excellently organised canteen, in which could be 
found anything, from a toothbrush to a box of candy. 
I am afraid to say how many tons of candy this fleet 
took to sea. Primarily all these good things were for 
the men. The government does not feed officers; they 
must pay for their food or go hungry; but on this 
cruise we were allowed to draw stores from the general 
supply and pay for them. This buying, however, can 
only be done while the men have plenty and to spare. 
As soon as there is a threat of shortage, the officers 
must go without. 

I have found that many of our countrymen believe 
that the government clothes and feeds us in addition to 
paying us our salaries. I always take pleasure in tell- 
ing such kindly disposed thinkers how wrong they are; 
that the government pays us our salary only, and then 
deducts twenty cents a month from that for fear that 
w^e may some day fall ill and have to be sent to a hos- 
pital. Every officer and man in the navy has to pay 
twenty cents a month into the hospital fund, and yet 
the government of the United States could afford to 

407 



An Admiral's Log 

pay twenty millions of dollars for the Philippine 
Islands, which we held by the best title known to man 
— the right of conquest. It is sometimes hard to recog- 
nise the eternal fitness of things ! 

In addition to the reserve supply in the store-ship, 
each vessel of the fleet started with her own store- 
rooms full, which was in most cases sufficient for three 
months. The Bureau of Supplies and Accounts cer- 
tainly deserves great credit for the way this vast 
amount of provisions was supplied and put on board, 
and too much cannot be said for those firms who pre- 
pared them. We gave every man in the fleet his proper 
ration of good, wholesome food every day, from Fort- 
ress Monroe to San Francisco, and, notwithstanding 
the fact that we twice passed through the tropics on the 
way, the stores last served out were as good as they 
were when first placed on board. Although it is the 
right of sailors to growl — and they never fail to do it 
when there is the least ground for it — I heard of but 
one complaint about food during this cruise. A news- 
paper clipping, containing a letter from a man on one 
of the battleships declaring that bad ham had beei 
served to the crew, was sent to me from Washingto: 
for investigation. In this letter to his mother th 
youngster declared that ham which was spoiled ha' 
been given the men to eat. I sent for the captain o 
the ship, and from him learned that the men of hi 
crew had heard of the letter and had called the write 
to account for having written what every one knew t 
be untrue. The captain had brought the lad on boar 
with him, and when I asked him what he meant b 
such conduct he said that he had written it in fun to hi 

408 



The Repair Ship 

mother, and had no idea that it would ever get into 
print. 

Unfortunately there are a number of newspapers 
in the country which will publish any yarn sent them, 
and the more exaggerated and untrue the contents the 
better they seem to like it. Ever since I first took com- 
mand of a ship I have been most careful in looking 
after the welfare of the crew, and, I am glad to say, the 
men have not hesitated to bring their troubles to me 
for settlement. So when this complaint came I was 
perfectly sure there could be no truth in it, or some of 
the older men in the crew would have appealed to the 
captain, and if necessary to me. There was a time 
when our men were very badly treated in the matter of 
food, but I am glad to say that time has long since 
passed. 

. We had learned the value of a properly fitted repair 
ship during the Spanish War, and the Department 
agreed to send one with the Atlantic Fleet. The Pan- 
ther was, accordingly, fitted out for the purpose, and 
suitable machinery and appliances placed on board. She 
proved most efficient, and paid for herself several times 
over before we saw the Golden Gate. These auxil- 
iaries, store and repair ships, were of more interest to 
the many foreign naval attaches who visited them than 
anything else in the fleet. The Panther was fitted par- 
ticularly for making castings, which the battleships, 
though having excellent workshops, were unable to do. 
Besides this, she carried spare parts of machinery such 
as were most likely to give way on the large ships, and 
also propeller blades for the torpedo-boat destroyers. 
The work done by this ship reflected the greatest credit 

409 



An Admiral's Log 

on the men who fitted her out, and her excellent com- 
manding officer was deservedly most popular with all 
hands for the efficient way in which he met the numer- 
ous demands made on him. The destroyers could not 
have made the trip as they did had it not been for the 
Panther. 

The last of the auxiliaries to be prepared for service 
was the Arethusa, water ship. Her function was to act 
as mother ship to the destroyers and, when possible, 
supply fresh water for the boilers of the battleships, 
which could be carried in their double bottoms, and 
thus save the coal that would be used in distilling water 
to make up the waste feed of the boilers. She was too 
slow to keep up with the destroyers, and was seldom 
called upon by the battleships, but she was of value in 
carrying oil, of which we required for the cruise one 
hundred thousand gallons, and other heavy stores, such 
as cordage, etc. I was surprised to find that my requi- 
sition for rope to be used in coaling the fleet could not 
be completely filled, though we bought every foot of 
four-inch rope in the market. The motors which oper- 
ate the coal whips are driven at very high speed, and 
the rope falls are cut up and destroyed in the most sur- 
prising way. The fact that the fleet took the entire 
supply in the market, and did not have any too much, 
would seem to point to the necessity of keeping a sup- 
ply on hand. 



CHAPTER XXX 

THE DEPARTURE FOR THE PACIFIC 

Early in December I issued orders for the fleet 
to assemble in Hampton Roads on or before December 
loth, but, as some of the ships were delayed in dock- 
ing, this was later changed to the 12th. On the day 
mentioned all had arrived and were anchored in line 
of squadrons — two lines, with eight ships in each line. 
All the coal that could be stowed was taken in and a 
generous supply of fresh water pumped into the double 
bottoms.- On the 14th and 15th the last of the fresh 
provisions were taken in, and the great fleet was ready 
for sea. The hotels at Fortress Monroe were crowded 
with visitors, families of officers and their friends, who 
had come to say good-bye and see us off on a record- 
breaking cruise. We danced and made as merry as we 
could, but at times the faces of officers and men gave 
evidence that it was hard to leave the dear ones, and 
that long years of the same heart-breaking process had 
not made it any easier. The dignity and self-control of 
the navy women, some of them brides of only a few 
weeks, was a striking feature of the occasion. But 
that is what American men expect of their American 
women, and they are never disappointed. 

Owing to the comparatively small coal capacity of 
the destroyers, the flotilla sailed before the battleships. 

411 



An Admiral's Log "' 

The itinerary for them was different from that of the 
main fleet — so arranged that they could run from port 
to port without worrying over their coal supply, and 
finally meet the battleships at Rio de Janeiro. Their 
inability to carry provisions for any considerable time 
had also to be considered in arranging their ports of 
call. 

The President had decided that he would come to 
Fortress Monroe in the Mayflower to review the fleet, 
say good-bye to the officers and men, and see us off on 
our long cruise — an honour which every officer and 
man felt deeply and duly appreciated. The morning 
of the 1 6th came with leaden skies and a promise of 
bad weather. The fresh, cold north-west wind made 
boating ugly work, but somehow we believed in Roose- 
velt weather, and sure enough it came. As the May- 
flower approached the fleet, the rails of the ships were 
manned, the officers paraded in special full dress, the 
marine guards presented arms, the bands played the 
national air, and a salute of twenty-one guns was fired. 
As the reports of the saluting guns died away, the 
clouds parted, the sun came out, and ushered in a most 
beautiful day. It was, indeed, Roosevelt weather. The 
Mayflower anchored in the midst of the fleet, and all 
the flag and commanding officers repaired on board at 
once to be greeted by the President and the distin- 
guished people who accompanied him and to say good- 
bye to them. 

As I passed over the gangway I was met by the 
President and greeted by him in his usual hearty and 
courteous manner. A battery of cameras clicked and 
snapped as Mr. Roosevelt gave me a few last instruc- 

412 




Pi 



ii CU 



The President's Good-bye 

tions, and I am sure no expression of his face or mine 
escaped these energetic workers, who in pursuit of 
their calHng often make themselves most annoying. 
For the first time I was authorised by the President to 
say to the officers and men of the fleet that, after a stay 
of a few months in the Pacific, the fleet would return 
to an Atlantic port via the Suez Canal. 

This message was conveyed to them by signal the 
first night out, and announced to the officers at the 
ward-room dinner. One of the newspaper men sent 
the message to his paper by wireless, and it was pub- 
lished the following morning. Afterwards I saw that 
Mr. Loeb had promptly denied that the President ever 
authorised any such statement. Mr. Loeb is undoubt- 
edly one of the best men who ever served as secretary 
to a President, but I am sure I could keep him busy for 
a long time denying things if I published everything 
the President has said to me. On this occasion it was 
plain from his manner that Mr. Roosevelt felt deeply 
the importance of the step he had decided to take, and 
which had centred upon the navy of the United States 
the critical attention of the whole world. 

The same may be said of Admiral Brownson, Chief 
of the Bureau of Navigation, who accompanied him — 
an officer who, from long and faithful service and un- 
excelled ability, deserved to hold the position he did of 
confidential adviser to his chief. Both of their faces 
were serious, but not troubled, and it was plain that, 
while feeling somewhat the difficulties before me, they 
had no doubt of the successful accomplishment of my 
task. I was most gratified to have the President say 
to me, as he did, " Remember, Admiral Evans, you sail 

413 



An Admiral's Log 

the children's diseases known were in evidence among 
the recruits from the training stations, and all these 
had to be eradicated before we arrived at Trinidad or 
the fleet would have to ride out a quarantine, which 
would seriously interfere with our itinerary. Able 
doctors, isolation wards, and disinfectants soon cleared 
the atmosphere, and in the beautiful weather south of 
the Gulf Stream all the sick people, except a few seri- 
ous cases, were soon on their feet and taking their 
rations with relish. On the morning of the second 
day out white uniform was ordered, and we did not 
again wear blue until we approached the Straits of 
Magellan, a few weeks later. 

During the run of seventeen hundred miles the 
drills were constant; indeed, several kinds of drills 
were taking place at the same time. The interval be- 
tween the squadrons was increased to fighting range, 
so that the gun pointers could keep their sights on an 
actual ship, and the range-finder crews were given 
hours of practice each day and, later, at night. In 
order to standardise the propellers, which had never 
been done at so great a draught, each ship was required 
to keep station most carefully and report each half 
hour the actual number of revolutions she was making 
as counted on the bridge. This was checked from the 
flagship, whose speed was regarded as standard. The 
gun drills were most carefully and persistently fol- 
lowed up by the ordnance officers, and every effort 
made to have the men ready for action at the earliest 
moment. 

As we approached the West Indies, the Missouri 
was sent into San Juan to land a sick man who might 

416 



Christmas at Port-of-Spain 

have some chance for his life if he could have hospital 
treatment. She was only just out of sight when the 
Illinois reported a case of meningitis, and no hope for 
the man unless he could be landed at once, so she was 
sent into Culebra, where we have a hospital, and both 
ships ordered to rejoin off Sail Rock, in the windward 
passage, which they did the following day. 

On the afternoon of December 23d the fleet passed 
tlirough the Dragon's Mouth into the Gulf of Paria, 
and just after sunset anchored in column of divisions 
about five miles from the town of Port-of-Spain. The 
colliers were waiting for us, and also, much to my sur- 
prise, the destroyers, one of which had met with an 
accident. The Panther took the disabled boat in hand 
and soon had it ready for sea again, and at daylight of 
the 24th the first division began coaling. Notwith- 
standing the tremendous heat, the coal was all in and 
the decks washed down before night, greens obtained 
from shore for dressing the ships, turkey and other 
good things served out from the store-ships, and all 
hands were ready to enjoy their Christmas on the mor- 
row. In the meantime all official calls had been ex- 
changed with the officials on shore — a duty which 
always demands much time and patience. After call- 
ing on the governor. Sir Henry Jackson, who was far 
from well, I established myself and the other flag offi- 
cers of the fleet at the Queen's Hotel, and there received 
his return call, after which we all dined at Government 
House and were most hospitably entertained. 

Christmas Day was most carefully observed, only 
absolutely necessary work being done. The crews had 
the usual sports — boat races, etc. — and after a good 

417 



An Admiral's Log 

dinner four thousand of them visited the town. On 
the 26th, 27th, and 28th the three remaining divisions 
were coaled to their utmost capacity for the long run 
to Rio, the divisions not coaling giving shore liberty to 
their men from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. 

On the afternoon of December 29th the fleet was 
again under way, and, passing out through the Dragon's 
Mouth, headed south for its longest run. Before leav- 
ing I received from the governor a note, from which 
the following is an extract: 

" I ask to be allowed to offer my congratulations on 
the irreproachable behaviour of your men on leave. A 
residence for years at Gibraltar, a rendezvous of the 
fleets of the world, has given me much experience with 
Jack ashore. I can assert that your men established a 
record hard to equal and impossible to beat." 

A pleasant run brought the great armada to the 
equator during the forenoon of January 5th, and there 
Neptune, whose flag was flying from every ship, met 
us and welcomed us to his domain. 

Of all the old customs of the navy, the only one 
that will probably survive and last for all time is the 
initiation of landsmen who cross the " Line," as the 
equator is called, for the first time. The ceremonies, 
like the custom itself, are practically the same in all the 
navies of the world, but do not, so far as I know, 
obtain in the merchant service. In an age of change, 
when all precedents are disregarded and old customs 
and traditions forgotten, it is pleasant to know that this 
one, so long observed and which gives pleasure to so 
many, may still hold its place. 

As the fleet approached the equator on the evening 
418 



Crossing the "Line" 

of the 4th of January a messenger from Neptunus Rex 
boarded each vessel, interviewed the captain, and, hav- 
ing received his permission for his Majesty to visit him 
on the morrow, took his leave. During the night of 
the 4th each ship was fitted with a large canvas tank 
near the forward turret, so arranged that from a tilting 
barber's chair on the rim of the turret the one to be 
initiated could be tumbled head over heels into the 
water, which, as it leaked out, was being constantly re- 
newed by several lines of hose. All those to face 
Father Neptune were sure of a good cool bath, if noth- 
ing more. 

When the position of no latitude was reached on 
January 5th, the flag of the Monarch of the Sea was 
broken out at the signal yardarm on every vessel of the 
fleet, and King Neptune, followed by his suite, boarded 
each ship over the bows and marched aft to the quarter- 
deck, in the presence of the assembled crew, to make 
his call on the admirals and captains and obtain their 
permission to conduct his ceremonies. Great ingenuity 
had been shown by the *' old hands " in preparing the 
many costumes necessary for the occasion, and the 
" march aft," as it is called, produced much laughter 
and applause from those who saw it for the first time. 
But there were many serious faces among the young 
recruits, who looked forward with some anxiety to the 
time when they should fall into the hands of these fear- 
ful-looking monsters of the deep, who were constantly 
threatening dire things to those " landlubbers " and 
" haymakers " who ventured to invade their domain 
without permission. 

Father Neptune in every case knew the officers and 
419 



An Admiral's Log 

men whom he had met before, and he welcomed them 
with a few kind words, mentioning the name of the 
ship in which each had sailed, and wishing them a fair 
wind for all time. So perfect were the costumes of the 
King and his court on board the flagship that I failed to 
recognise a single man of the more than fifty who con- 
stituted the suite. I presented them with cigars enough 
to keep them going, wished them a successful day, and 
the frolic began. Seats had been arranged on the for- 
ward bridge for the officers who had crossed the line 
before, and from this point we observed the ceremo- 
nies. The day was exceedingly hot, and we were all 
dressed in our thinnest white uniforms. After I had 
been watching the fun for several hours I felt a 
peculiar cold wind blowing on my back, which so 
chilled me that I was forced to retire to my cabin, 
where in the evening I found myself helpless with an 
attack of inflammatory rheumatism, which caused me 
intense suffering, often recurred, and eventually com- 
pelled me to give up the command of the Atlantic Fleet 
— a misfortune which might well break the heart of 
any flag officer who loved his profession as I have 
always done. 

Before leaving the United States the " old hands " 
had provided the certificates for Neptune to sign. They 
were handsomely printed on sea-green paper, and made 
very pretty souvenirs for the recruits to preserve. In- 
deed, I should not say " recruits," for there were many 
men, and officers as well, who had been around the 
world several times — men of many years' service — who 
had never crossed the equator. This may be easily un- 
derstood after a glance at the map, where it will be 

420 



King Neptune on Board 

seen how one leaving San Francisco can cross the 
Pacific, proceed through the Mediterranean, and so 
across the Atlantic to New York without once crossing 
the equator, and this many officers and men had done. 
When once the Panama Canal is completed, the equato- 
rial ocean regions will be much more lonely even than 
they are now. 

King Neptune always offers the officers the privi- 
lege of paying their footing — that is, contributing so 
many cigars or so many bottles of beer instead of being 
regularly initiated; but on this occasion the midship- 
men decided that they would take their medicine with 
the rest, and they were the first to receive the rites — 
that is to say, to be shaved by the barber with a long 
wooden razor, and then to be tumbled into the bath, 
where the " mermaids," " sharks," and " porpoises " 
saw that they were thoroughly and properly ducked. 
The ward-room preferred to pay. 

As each man of the crew received his ducking he 
became an energetic recruit in the ranks of Neptune, 
and joined the sea policemen, who with stuffed clubs 
were searching the ship for those attempting to escape 
the ordeal. This was particularly the case with many 
of the coloured men on board who were serving in the 
capacity of mess men. None was allowed to escape, 
and as I looked on I could very easily tell the men, 
both black and white, who had in any way made them- 
selves offensive to the crew. Such persons came out of 
the tank pretty full of soapsuds and salt water! But 
in no case was any man maltreated or injured. It was 
a harmless form of hazing to which I gave my hearty 
approval. When all hands had received his attention, 
38 421 



An Admiral's Log 

the certificates were signed and presented by Neptune, 
and the fifteen thousand men of the fleet were at last 
proper men to sail the salt seas. I doubt if so many 
men ever before crossed the line at one time, and I 
know that a finer lot of clean-cut sailor lads were never 
assembled in one fleet. 

Once across the line, the question of coal supply be- 
came a very serious one. Theoretically, the supply in 
the bunkers should take us safely to Rio with several 
hundred tons to spare, but what about the equatorial 
current, and how could we best avoid it ? After a care- 
ful study of all the charts and sailing directions by the 
chief of staff and myself, it was decided to stand well 
out to the eastward to avoid the strength of this 
current, but when this had been done we found a 
knot and a half and sometimes two knots per hour 
against us. 

The Maine was eating up coal at an alarming rate, 
if I could rely absolutely on her noon report each day, 
and one of the new ships had the same undesirable 
tendency. I have seen considerable service in battle- 
ships, and I knew that their engine-room forces were, 
like those of other ships, given to coming out ahead 
on the coal question, and I had never been caught 
at sea completely out of coal, so I did not allow 
the situation to trouble me much. When the new 
ship mentioned above seemed to be approaching the 
danger line in coal consumption, I made signal to 
her that when her coal on hand was reduced to a 
certain amount the Kansas would take her in tow, 
and that ended the trouble! Her coal consumption 
was immediately reduced to that of other ships of her 

422 



The Firemen of the Fleet 

class. It seemed to me that even the most econom- 
ical ships lowered their consumption as a result of this 
signal. We arrived in Rio, as all now know, without 
trouble and with a comfortable reserve of coal in our 
bunkers. 

The question of how to improve the efficiency of 
the firemen of the fleet was one that had given me 
much serious concern. They were not up to the stand- 
ard established by the men at the guns, and I deter- 
mined to make them so if possible. With the assist- 
ance of the able officers of my staff, a comprehensive 
general order covering the whole subject and giving 
full details was prepared and issued. Competition 
among all the ships of the fleet was demanded by the 
order, and suitable rewards offered provided Congress 
could be induced to give us the necessary small sum of 
money — about two thousand dollars. This order was 
issued at Rio, and from the time we left there until we 
reached Magdalena Bay resulted in a saving of four- 
teen hundred tons of coal, which, in dollars and cents, 
at the contract price of coal, was enough to pay the 
prizes to be awarded for four years. Congress did not, 
however, give us the money, but the Navy Department 
and the service generally highly approved of the order, 
and we live in hope that some other Congress will treat 
us better. 

Before the fleet sailed from Hampton Roads I had 
seen several letters giving information that we were to 
be blown up and sunk on our way to the Pacific, the 
first attack being promised for Rio and the second in 
the Straits of Magellan. All the letters that I saw 
were anonymous, dated in Canada, and named either 

423 



An Admiral's Log 

the Japanese government or the Japanese as the ones 
who were going to do us up. It seemed to me strange 
that the Japanese government should tell these men 
without names in Canada when and how they were 
going to destroy the battleships of a friendly nation! 
And I am free to confess that I considered the whole 
story unworthy of notice. As to the attack to be made 
at Rio, the channel leading into the harbour was to be 
mined, and as we passed over them the mines were to 
send us all to our last account. 

Having had some little practice in planting mines, 
I was sure it could not be successfully done without 
considerable outlay of money and equipment of ships, 
boats, etc., and all this must be done without the con- 
sent of a friendly government to whose capital we 
were about paying a visit. In the attack to be tpade 
in the Straits of Magellan the mines were to be 
secured to floating driftwood, and as we steamed 
through this floating timber were to do their deadly 
work. But as I had no intention whatever of running 
the Atlantic Fleet over driftwood in the Straits — in 
fact, I never saw any such thing there — I gave this 
story even less thought than the Rio one. One of 
the letters also placed Japanese submarines in the 
Straits. 

All the captains and flag officers had been informed 
of the foolish stories given above, and directed to take 
all proper steps for the protection of their ships. To 
take any real steps, such as might lead the Brazilians to 
think that we for a moment believed ourselves in any 
danger, would be an insult to that nation which could 
not be thought of. Merely as a matter of form I sent 

424 



Foolish Stories 

my tender, the Yankton, and the supply ships and one 
colHer ahead of the fleet, so that they might explode 
any mines in our way ! 

On January 12th, as we approached the entrance to 
the harbour, the Yankton sent a wireless message that 
she was on her way out with important despatches for 
me. When all the despatches and letters had been read, 
I found only one item of importance : I was warned to 
look out carefully for the safety of the fleet, as an at- 
tack was threatened, but this time it was to be done by 
anarchists, and not by the Japanese. Some of the let- 
ters gave a list of the men who were to blow us up, 
but there was not a Japanese name on the list. They 
were all Brazilians, and, as it turned out afterwards, 
several of them were among the most respectable busi- 
ness men of Rio! The chief of police of Rio was 
looking up all those connected with the plot, and 
in this way it became known, the names made public, 
etc. 

In the end it appeared that there never had been 
any plot to blow the fleet up or harm it in any way, 
which was my opinion from the first. But on the the- 
ory that where there is smoke there must be fire, it was 
necessary and proper that every possible precaution 
should be taken, and this was done. It became known 
that a vessel was loading in a German port with phos- 
phorus for a match firm in Rio, and those who had the 
story in hand made it appear that this cargo was to be 
used in making high explosives with which to destroy 
the ships. Just how this was to be done was not ex- 
plained — it was not necessary, as the interested parties 
had probably received their pay before this stage of the 

425 



An Admiral's Log 

game was reached. Phosphorus is often used for the 
destruction of water bugs and roaches on seagoing 
ships, and this cargo, which had caused so much 
trouble, or at least a considerable part of it, was pur- 
chased by the Atlantic Fleet and used for that purpose. 



CHAPTER XXXI 

AROUND SOUTH AMERICA 

When we were about twenty miles from the en- 
trance to the harbour we were met by a division of 
the BraziHan navy, under command of a flag officer, 
sent out to welcome us and escort us in. Salutes were 
fired, messages exchanged, and much cheering indulged 
in while the bands played national airs. In perfect 
formation the fleet stood into the beautiful harbour 
and received the hearty welcome of the hundreds of 
thousands of people who had assembled to greet us. 
Amid the booming of the saluting guns, the music of 
many bands, and the cheering crowds, the " White 
Messengers of Peace," as Mr. Roosevelt called us, 
passed on to their anchorage, and the second and 
longest run of the cruise had been successfully com- 
pleted. 

As soon as the anchors were down the colliers, 
which had arrived ahead of us, were called alongside, 
and coaling began at once. The crews all knew that a 
generous amount of liberty was waiting for them when 
the coal had been taken in and the ships cleaned up and 
made tidy, and they required no urging. The appear- 
ance of the ships was in sharp contrast with what it 
had been at Trinidad before sailing from that port. 
Practically all the coal in the bunkers had been con- 

427 



An Admiral's Log 

sumed on the passage except in the Connecticut class 
of ships, and the red water-line armour belts of all of 
them showed several feet above the water. It was a 
fine object lesson for all hands, and a fair warning that 
if we were ever caught in this empty condition on the 
eve of battle we might expect much serious damage 
from projectiles entering below this belt. Many offi- 
cers were amused afterwards in reading the testimony 
given before the Senate naval committee that on the 
arrival of the fleet at Rio the Connecticut's armour 
belt was completely under water! Indeed, there was 
a lot of testimony given at that time before the 
committee that caused many officers to smile and 
wonder ! 

The reception of our fleet in Rio de Janeiro was 
most cordial and friendly by all classes, from the 
President of the Republic to the smallest shopkeeper. 
Brilliant receptions were tendered and magnificent balls 
and dinners given by officials and private citizens, 
which were attended by all the officers who could be 
spared from duty. The conduct of all classes was such 
as to indicate a true feeling of friendship, and I believe 
this was general throughout the country. The repre- 
sentatives of the two great republics fraternised and 
came to know each other in a way that promises well 
for the future relations of the two countries. The en- 
tertainments were lavish and the festivities such as to 
make a most lasting impression on all our people. As 
I was in the hands of the doctors at the time, I re- 
quested Admiral Thomas, second in command, to rep- 
resent me in all the civil functions, and it is unnecessary 
to state that he did it in a way to reflect the utmost 

428 



Arrangements for Shore Leave 

credit on the country and the fleet. The navy has pro- 
duced few men the equal of the late Rear- Admiral 
C. M. Thomas in all that goes to make an officer and a 
gentleman. 

The question of how best to manage the great num- 
ber of men on liberty so as to prevent any trouble or 
scandal was one that required careful consideration. 
While our men, as a rule, are self-respecting and well- 
behaved while on shore, there will always be found a 
few who are disposed to make trouble, and in a case 
like the one before us, where neither side understood 
the language of the other, a small row could quickly 
grow into a serious riot. To prevent anything of the 
kind, I requested through the proper channels that I 
might be allowed to land a patrol force to look after 
our own men and act with the police of the city in 
preventing disorder. 

This request was promptly granted, and the scheme 
worked so successfully that it is now generally fol- 
lowed. It had been successfully tried at Trinidad. In- 
stead of asking or allowing the police force of the city 
visited to handle our men, I sent a patrol composed 
entirely of men of the seaman branch, generally mas- 
ters at arms and other petty officers, in charge of a 
commissioned officer. Marines were never sent, be- 
cause the men would like nothing better than to have 
fun with them! 

When the patrol was landed, the officer in com- 
mand communicated with the chief of police, and, as a 
rule, quartered his men in the police stations. From 
this point the city or town was easily watched, and as 
soon as the men showed any disposition to make 

429 



An Admiral's Log 

trouble they were marched to the dock, where a boat 
was always in waiting, and taken off to their ships. 
There was no disposition to resist or fight with this 
patrol, for the men knew how such conduct would be 
treated ! During the entire cruise we never left a place 
where the men had been landed without words of praise 
from the authorities for the way the bluejackets con- 
ducted themselves and the way our patrol was handled. 
The experience for the young officers was most valu- 
able. 

It had been my intention to sail from Rio on Janu- 
ary 2 1 St, but, finding that a mail was due from New 
York on the following day, I postponed our departure 
in order that the fifteen thousand officers and men 
might have the last words from home before starting 
on the long run to Callao, where our next mail was due. 
When the mail reached us on the 22d much unfavour- 
able comment, as well as great amusement, was caused 
in the fleet by the announcement that a pilot, one 
" Captain Greene," who had served on an army trans- 
port, was to join and pilot us through the Straits 
of Magellan. Some of the home papers printed rather 
caustic articles protesting against this humiliation of 
the navy, and giving the commander-in-chief rather a 
severe lecture on his contemplated show of ignorance 
and incompetency. It was learned afterwards that 
some retired naval officers in New York City had pro- 
posed the publication of one of these severe articles. 
Good souls! They, at least, with their knowledge of 
the naval service, should have known how silly such a 
proposition was. The swivel-chair habit must have 
affected these " Sons of Rest " seriously before they 

430 



Departure from Rio 

could have brought themselves to such a state of mind. 
Suffice it to say that Captain Greene, if there ever was 
such a person, did not put in an appearance, which was 
fortunate for him, as rather a cool reception would 
have met him if he had. 

On the afternoon of January 22d, in the midst of a 
tremendous thunder-storm, with torrents of rain, the 
fleet got under way and stood out of the harbour, being 
reviewed by President Penna and a distinguished com- 
pany of officials as we passed the forts at the entrance. 
All Rio seemed to be afloat, but the heavy wind squalls 
soon drove the small craft to shelter with their crowds 
of enthusiastic, cheering people. The Brazilian Fleet, 
which had carefully attended us by day and guarded us 
by night against the threatened anarchists' attack, was 
under way before us and escorted us to sea. Many 
salutes were fired and friendly messages exchanged be- 
fore the Atlantic Fleet disappeared in the mist and rain, 
after the most notable visit ever made by a naval force 
to the capital of this prosperous South American re- 
public. 

The flotilla of torpedo-boat destroyers, after being 
put in complete order at Rio by the Panther, had been 
sent on ahead to make a visit to Buenos Ayres. The 
depth of water in this harbour was not sufficient for 
the battleships, and we all regretted that we were not 
to visit the Argentine Republic, always so friendly to 
our country. The American minister at Rio had noti- 
fied me that a division of Argentine ships would meet 
me off the coast of that country to exchange greetings, 
and on Sunday, just before noon, I sent the following 
wireless message : 

431 



An Admiral's Log 

" To Rear-Admiral Oliva : Fleet, eight o'clock, 
latitude 35 degrees 35 minutes S. ; longitude 52 de- 
grees 40 minutes W. Steaming south 31 degrees W. 
magnetic; speed ten knots." 

Two hours later came the following reply : 

" To Rear-Admiral Evans : The commander of the 
San Martin Division of the Argentine Navy salutes 
Rear-Admiral Evans, his officers and men, and trans- 
mits to him the position of the Argentine Division or- 
dered to meet him as by dead reckoning 36 degrees 56 
minutes S. ; longitude 53 degrees 41 minutes W. Hip- 
olito Oliva." 

Early on Monday, after the exchange of very cor- 
dial messages, the Argentine ships — four cruisers — ap- 
peared on the horizon astern, with the flag officer at the 
head, in column formation. Steaming at twelve knots, 
they soon drew up on us, and, in order to give them a 
good look at us, and let them see just what we were like, 
I changed our cruising formation from line of squadron 
at half interval to column, and in this formation, with 
distances perfectly maintained, bands playing, and 
crews standing at attention, our new friends passed 
from the rear of the column to the head. 

As the flagship of Admiral Oliva, the Belgrando, 
drew up abeam of the Connecticut, she saluted me, 
which was immediately returned. I knew of no prece- 
dent for such a ceremony, but in order to be sure of not 
failing in courtesy, hoisted the Argentine flag and 
saluted with twenty-one guns, which salute was, of 
course, promptly returned. In passing us at a distance 
of about four hundred yards the officers and men of 
the Argentine Division had had a fine chance to see 

432 



In the Straits of Magellan 

what our ships looked like, and how they might be able 
to make the Monroe Doctrine, which Secretary Root 
had lately talked to them about, appear to any one who 
wished to question it. Admiral Oliva courteously 
offered to transmit any message I might have for my 
government, and immediately changed his course and 
stood for his own country. His ships were at double 
distance, admirably handled, and appeared trim and 
very businesslike. 

We ran into foggy weather off the coast of Pata- 
gonia on the 29th, and officers and men were shifted 
into blue uniforms ; overcoats, even, were very welcome 
in the night watches. January 31st found us in sight 
of Cape Virgin, and, as the weather-beaten lighthouse 
bore abeam, the following unsigned message was 
picked up by the ever-watchful wireless operator : 

*' Welcome, American squadron, distinguished." 

At four o'clock in the afternoon the fleet anchored 
in Possession Bay, in the Straits of Magellan, to wait 
over night for favourable weather and tide for the run 
to Sandy Point. 

Long before reaching Cape Virgin I had requested 
the captain of the flagship and his navigator to submit 
to me a chart showing the courses he proposed to steer 
in making the passage through the Straits. This was 
done, and, after giving it a careful overhauling in con- 
sultation with my chief of staff, I approved it and 
directed that it be carefully followed. 

The fleet was under way at 4 a.m. on February ist, 
and in the afternoon anchored in line of squadron off 
the town of Punta Arenas, where we found the Chilean 

433 



An Admiral's Log 

cruiser Chacabuco, flying the flag of Admiral Simpson, 
who had been sent to the Straits to welcome us in the 
name of his government. He had courteously given 
passage to the American minister to Chile, who came 
to welcome us there, as we were not to stop at any 
other Chilean port. CoaUng was, of course, the first 
thing to be done, but while it was going on there was 
a constant round of entertainments and many official 
calls to be made and returned, all of which was at- 
tended to by Admiral Thomas. 

Punta Arenas, the most southern city of the Amer- 
ican continent, so far as we know, may at least boast of 
its latitude if of nothing else. It has been said — and I 
suspect truly — that one can find here deserters from 
every naval service in the world and, in addition, men 
of every nationality, who, for one reason or another, 
prefer to keep out of range of the Pinkertons and 
police generally. If they came here for pleasure, it is 
difficult to understand their point of view, and if they 
came to find a loafing place, for idleness as a pastime, 
they certainly were badly advised. Of all the places I 
have seen, Sandy Point appears to be about the last in 
which to make a living. 

From the water the town has the appearance of a 
tropical town, composed of small corrugated-iron 
houses, but without the show of vegetation which 
counts for so much in the general effect of tropical 
places. It has the advantage, however, of an excellent 
water supply, and the climate is all that could be desired 
by those who like cold weather all the time. The sum- 
mer is short and never hot, and the winters long and 
very cold. Hard gales of wind, with plenty of snow 

434 



At Punta Arenas 

and ice, are of daily occurrence, and yet the population 
steadily increases — not by reason of natural increase or 
growth, but because of the influx of the gold seekers 
who have heard of the great value of the far-southern 
mines, only recently discovered. 

I found that since I had last passed through the 
Straits in the Yorktown, seventeen years ago, the town 
of Punta Arenas had more than doubled in size and 
now had over 12,000 inhabitants. Very rich gold 
mines have been discovered on both sides of the 
Straits, and are being profitably worked ; vast flocks of 
sheep are raised on the mountain sides, and several 
large refrigerating plants ship frozen meats to Europe 
and South American markets, which accounts for the 
growth of the place and promises well for its future. 

I had thought, probably hoped, that there would be 
no entertainment to face at Sandy Point, but in this I 
was mistaken, for even here one more link was added 
to the chain of hearty welcome that was to extend to 
the full length of the cruise. The governor first gave a 
reception at his beautiful home on shore, to which all 
officers were invited. Then followed a dinner on the 
Chacabuco by Admiral Simpson to the flag officers, and 
finally a dinner on board the same ship for the petty 
officers of the American fleet. 

The government of Chile in all this showed the 
warm feeling of friendship she entertains for the great 
republic of the north, and we fully appreciated the feel- 
ing and the unusual way in which it was expressed. 
Among those who were anxious to entertain us was a 
colonel in the German army and his charming wife, 
who had come all the way from the Chilean capital to 

435 



An Admiral's Log 

welcome us. He was, and is yet, I believe, preparing 
the army of one of the smaller South American repub- 
lics to surprise her larger neighbors when the war 
which all are expecting actually comes. 

Large liberty parties were sent on shore from the 
ships which were not coaling, and the men had a good 
opportunity to stretch their legs and look the town 
over. Some kind friend — I afterwards heard it was 
the Chamber of Commerce — had put up a large sign 
which read, " Special Prices for the Fleet/* and they 
were special — specially high — but the American blue- 
jacket has somehow the faculty of guessing at the cor- 
rect value of things, and after the kindly warning of 
the sign he was on his guard not to pay more for furs 
than they were worth, and furs were about the only 
article, except postcards, offered for sale. 

Among the officers of the Chacabuco was a young 
lieutenant who had just completed a survey of a part 
of Smythe's Channel, where he had found some anchor- 
ages for torpedo boats and other small vessels, hereto- 
fore unknown. This survey had not yet been charted, 
and when the lieutenant kindly offered to accompany 
the flotilla, under command of Lieutenant-Commander 
Cone, I gladly accepted his offer, and he was made 
comfortable on the flag boat and afterwards landed at 
a Chilean port. The information given by him was of 
great value to our officers. 

At eleven o'clock, the night of February 7th, the 
fleet got under way and stood to the westward through 
the Straits. To guard us against the threatened sub- 
marines and driftwood mines the destroyers were sta- 
tioned on either flank of the battleships, while the 

436 



Oil the Pacific 

auxiliaries followed in rear of the column. The Chaca- 
buco, Admiral Simpson's flagship, acting as escort, 
took station on the starboard beam of the Connecticut, 
my flagship. The battleships were four hundred yards 
apart from foremast to foremast in each division, and 
the divisions at double distance, or eight hundred 
yards. In this formation we passed through the 
Straits without trouble or accident, though at times 
the fog and mist shut out the shores entirely and even 
the ships from each other. When in the proper position, 
signal was made to the destroyers to proceed on duty 
assigned, which meant that they were to part company 
with the fleet and, passing through Smythe's Channel, 
go on their way north. About four o'clock in the 
afternoon the fog shut in thick, and we had to feel our 
way with the lead. At 9 p.m. the long Pacific swell 
told us just where we were, and soon after the course 
was changed for Valparaiso. 

On our arrival at Punta Arenas both Admiral 
Simpson and the American minister delivered mes- 
sages from the President of Chile requesting me to 
visit Valparaiso or, if that was impossible, to come close 
enough to the harbour to let the people see the fleet. 
Our itinerary called for a straight run from the Straits 
of Magellan to Callao, but I felt that I should comply 
with the request of President Montt for many reasons, 
and was confident of the approval of my government if 
I did so. I informed Admiral Simpson that I would 
stand close into the harbour of Valparaiso, pass at re- 
duced speed in front of the city, and that I should con- 
sider it an honour if the President could be afloat, 
review the fleet, and receive a salute. At the same time 
29 437 



An Admiral's Log 

I arranged the day and hour when we would be there, 
so that extra trains might bring to the city those who 
desired to come. All this was wired to the President 
at Santiago, and he expressed his thanks and satisfac- 
tion at our action. 

For several days after clearing the Straits the 
weather continued thick or foggy, but the compasses 
had been so carefully adjusted, both at Trinidad and at 
Punta Arenas, and the revolutions of the propellers so 
standardised on the way from Hampton Roads, that 
the ships kept accurate positions without the least 
trouble. When the fog lifted they were all in place as 
if tied on a line. On the 12th Admiral Simpson ran 
into one of his home ports for coal, and on the 13th 
rejoined the fleet, bringing with him a flotilla of tor- 
pedo boats as an additional force to act as our escort. 
On the 14th, at the exact hour appointed, the Atlantic 
Fleet passed across the harbour of Valparaiso, led by 
the Chacabuco, while the Chilean torpedo boats formed 
on our starboard beam and kept all small craft out of 
our way. So perfectly was the whole thing arranged 
and carried out that not a single boat of any kind 
passed beyond the prescribed line. 

When we were all in front of the city and very close 
in, signal was made to salute the Chilean flag, and at 
the same instant the sixteen ships fired the first gun. 
Our movements had been so timed that the last gun of 
the salute was fired in time to give a few minutes' in- 
terval before we should have to fire the personal salute 
to President Montt, who was, with other ofiicials of 
the government, on board the training ship General 
Banquedano, anchored well ahead of us. The crowds 

438 



Reviewed by President of Chili 

of people from all parts of the country covered the 
hills about Valparaiso. On one prominent grass-cov- 
ered point a company of sailors in white uniform was 
so arranged as to spell the word " Welcome," which 
was afterwards changed to " Farewell." The whole 
scene was most beautiful and impressive. 

As the Connecticut, leading the fleet, approached 
the General Banquedano, the rails were manned and a 
salute of twenty-one guns fired, while the guards pre- 
sented arms and the band played the Chilean national 
air. The same ceremonies were observed by each ship 
as she passed the President, and as the Kentucky, the 
rear ship of the column, fired her last gun the flags 
came down together, and all took up the cruising speed 
of eleven knots. It was estimated that over five hun- 
dred thousand people witnessed the review. Many cor- 
dial messages were exchanged, and it was most gratify- 
ing for me to know that the good feeling between the 
two countries had been restored in a measure through 
the appearance of a splendid fleet which I had the 
honour to command, for my last visit to this port in a 
small gunboat had not been as friendly as could be 
desired. One more South American republic had been 
afforded an opportunity to see how well prepared we 
were to enforce the Monroe Doctrine if any one wished 
to test it. ;^ 

On the afternoon of July 19th the Peruvian cruiser 
Bolognesi announced by wireless that she had been sent 
by the President of Peru to meet us and escort us to 
our anchorage in the harbour of Callao. Our position 
was made known to her, and after a few hours she 
joined us, and we anchored in the inner harbour at 8.30 

439 



An Admirars Log 

A.M. of the 20th. Messages of courtesy were ex- 
changed, salutes fired, and official calls were made, 
when the Peruvians proceeded with an elaborate pro- 
gramme of entertainment carefully prepared to show 
their well-known admiration and friendship for the 
United States. For ten days the officers and men of 
the fleet were simply swamped with kindness and hos- 
pitality. I am sure nothing like it was ever before ex- 
perienced by the ships of any nation. The President of 
the republic twice visited the fleet, and on the morning 
of the 27th boarded the Bolognesi and stood out to sea 
to review us as we passed on our way to the north. 
Our reception had been all that a most generous and 
friendly people could give to their neighbours. 



CHAPTER XXXII 

ON THE PACIFIC COAST 

At 8.30 A.M., March 12th, the fleet anchored in 
Magdalena Bay two days ahead of schedule time and 
actually in better condition in all respects than when we 
left Hampton Roads. The long cruise had been of 
great value to all hands, much had been learned, and 
most valuable experience gained in many ways. One 
captain very aptly put it when he called on me and I 
said to him : 

" Captain, I hope your officers have learned some- 
thing on the cruise." 

He replied : 

" Thirteen thousand miles at four hundred yards, 
night and day, including the Straits of Magellan; yes, 
they have learned a lot ! " 

The moment the anchors were down a large gang 
of men, under direction of the able and tireless fleet 
ordnance officer, Lieutenant-Commander McLean, be- 
gan assembling the rafts and getting the targets ready 
for use. They were not delayed in their work by any 
cheering crowds or offers of generous hospitality, for a 
more desolate, quiet spot it was never my misfortune 
to visit. There were, it is true, some shacks on shore 
which offered bad brandy and worse cigars for sale, 
but we were not in search of these articles and our 

441 



An Admiral's Log 

own supply ships were on hand, and from them we 
obtained every article necessary for health and com- 
fort. 

We anchored on Saturday, and on Monday morn- 
ing the first range was ready, and firing began on that 
day. Before the end of the week all the ranges were 
ready and one division of ships was firing. It was 
hard work day and night, but the men worked willingly 
and great progress was made. The bay was full of 
splendid fish, and the shore in many places abounded 
in wild fowl of various kinds, so that the officers and 
men who could be spared from duty had fine sport 
and supplied their tables with a generous amount of 
fish and game. 

It is, perhaps, a waste of time to surmise what might 
have been the fate or present condition of Magdalena 
Bay if the United States had secured it with the rest of 
California. That it is one of the most admirable bodies 
of water anywhere in the world for purposes of naval 
drill, all who have seen it admit, and it is but reasonable 
to suppose that the gallant naval officer who really gave 
us California, had he dreamed of a Panama Canal, 
would have recognised the strategic value of this great 
bay and secured it for his country. 

With three great naval stations on the Pacific coast 
— Bremerton, Mare Island, and Magdalena Bay — the 
control of the commerce of the Pacific would have been 
more easily assured in case the navy were ever called 
on to decide the question. The outlook now is that this 
is one of the questions to be settled by the laws of 
trade — a question of dollars and cents, so to speak — but 
business methods are sometimes of such a questionable 

442 



At Magdalena Bay 

character that miUtary force is necessary to correct or 
uphold them. 

Looking forward to the day when ships may pass 
from ocean to ocean through a canal owned and oper- 
ated by the United States, it seems only good policy to 
seek to acquire by purchase this important station. 
And this should not be difficult, for it is of no value to 
Mexico, the present owner, for she has no navy to 
speak of, and it seems impossible to imagine why she 
should ever create one. 

The lieutenant-governor of the province was on 
board a small Mexican gunboat anchored in the bay 
on the occasion of the visit of the fleet. He had come 
to extend a welcome to us, and he did it in a most 
hearty and friendly way. When he had dined the flag 
officers and as many of the captains as could be seated 
in his limited quarters, a return dinner was given him 
and his officers, and a few days later he was taken on 
board a battleship to witness target firing. 

I think he and those with him realised, as did all 
on the west coast who saw the Atlantic Fleet, that the 
control of the Pacific and the protection of the coast 
was absolute so long as this fleet remained. President 
Roosevelt had made this point very clear to all the 
world, and I think it was time to do so. 

Among the inhabitants of Man-of-War Cove, Mag- 
dalena Bay, there was but one American family. The 
head of the family was in charge of a ranch of some 
two hundred and fifty thousand acres belonging to an 
American company. The wife and the daughter were 
his companions, and certainly showed their devotion by 
remaining in this lonely, barren spot. All the fresh 

443 



An Admiral's Log 

water used by them had to be brought in breakers a 
distance of sixty miles by sail boat. For food they 
had plenty of fresh fish, but the rest of their diet was 
from tins. News of the outside world is brought in 
only occasionally. 

Since our ships make frequent visits to the bay, al- 
ways by permission of the Mexican government, the 
lot of these good people is not so hard. Any attempt 
to supply them with anything in the food line, how- 
ever, is difficult on account of the local custom-house, 
but I found water and ice on the free list, and I sup- 
plied them and the few Mexicans on the beach with 
these luxuries. 

During the stay of the fleet at Magdalena Bay our 
wireless outfit was severely taxed. We had a very 
large amount of official matter to be sent to Washing- 
ton every night, and in addition those representing the 
various news associations were anxious to get their 
news through in time for the morning editions of the 
newspapers. The Point Loma wireless station at San 
Diego, nine hundred miles away, had to handle all this 
matter, and it was a severe test of their efficiency, but 
they accomplished it somehow. From our end of the 
line we had to divide up the time — so many hours for 
official business — and then another ship, the Minne- 
sota or the Kansas, would take hold of the press de- 
spatches and rush them through. Of course, there was 
some growling, but as a whole the work was satisfac- 
torily done. 

While at Magdalena Bay the amount of mail con- 
cerning the different entertainments for the fleet on the 
west coast was enormous. The time of arrival and 

444 



Arrangement for San Francisco 

stay at each port had been published as soon as word 
was received from the Department in Washington, and 
all the different committees from a dozen or more ports 
wrote to tell just what they intended to do for us and 
what they wanted us to do for them. Of course, this 
meant much troublesome working out of details, but 
fortunately for me I had on my staff some of the ablest 
officers in the navy — men who could tackle successfully 
that or any other problem. 

The arrangements to be made for San Francisco 
were more complicated and difficult than for any other 
port, so Mr. Frank Symmes, the chairman of the com- 
mittee on reception of the fleet for that city, came down 
to Magdalena Bay and spent several days on the Con- 
necticut. During his visit my chief of staff, Captain 
IngersoU, and my secretary, Lieutenant-Commander 
Chandler, went over the whole subject with him and 
made all arrangements, so that when he went back he 
was able to report to his people just what was to be 
done. 

On April loth the fleet left Magdalena Bay for 
God's country once more. Target practice had been 
completed, the ships coaled and painted, and every- 
thing made ready for the wonderful reception await- 
ing officers and men at the ports of southern Califor- 
nia. The records showed that every ship in the fleet 
except one had improved in accuracy and rapidity of 
fire since the last record practice, proving beyond ques- 
tion that we could have engaged an enemy any hour 
after passing the Straits of Magellan with a fair hope 
of success, notwithstanding our green recruits, most 
of whom were now strong, handy sailormen. 

445 



An Admiral's Log 

I had been compelled after the target practice to 
leave the fleet temporarily and seek relief from my 
sufferings at Paso Robles Hot Springs, Admiral 
Thomas, as senior officer present, assumed command, 
and in the most admirable manner conducted the big 
sixteen up the coast, where they received from the 
warm-hearted, hospitable people of California and the 
west the most wonderful reception that has ever been 
extended to the naval force of any nation. The offi- 
cers and men of the fleet will never forget and will 
always recall with gratitude the splendid hospitality ac- 
corded to them by their warm-hearted countrymen 
from San Diego to San Francisco. 

On the way to Paso Robles, General Chaffee and a 
committee of citizens from Los Angeles boarded the 
train and talked over arrangements for the reception 
of the fleet at that port. I gave orders for the Yank- 
ton to be placed at the disposal of the general and his 
friends when the fleet was sighted off San Diego, so 
he could consult in comfort with Admiral Thomas and 
arrange all details. This plan was carried out, and 
the perfect manner of the reception in all its wonder- 
ful details was but the natural result of the labours of 
two such remarkable men as Thomas and Chaffee. The 
mere mention of Chaffee's name with any enterprise 
is a guarantee of its success, and we all know what 
Charley Thomas was. 

From my beautiful apartment at the Hot Springs I 
was in direct communication by wire and telephone 
with Admiral Thomas as soon as he arrived at San 
Diego, on the afternoon of April 14th. Able surgeons, 
professional skill, loving hearts, and willing hands did 

446 



In Southern California 

all that could be done to bring me back to health, 
so that I might be present when the fleet arrived, 
but the damage was too severe to be repaired in 
so short a time, and I was reluctantly forced to give 
it up. 

Admiral Thomas received for me the beautiful jew- 
elled box containing the key to the city gates and the 
freedom of the city, and also the sword presented by 
the Grand Army posts of southern California and the 
Morgan Post Confederate Veterans. God bless you, 
old white heads! That sword will make me feel a lit- 
tle moist about the eyes as long as I live. 

Governor Gillett, with his full staff, received Ad- 
miral Thomas at San Diego and extended to the fleet 
the official welcome of the State of California. The 
people of all classes offered the unofficial welcome, and 
that it came from the hearts of a loving, patriotic peo- 
ple no one for a moment could doubt. 

Officers and men alike felt that once more they 
were among their own people, and however grand and 
hospitable our reception had been in foreign ports, this, 
after all, was the true home-coming. The stay of the 
fleet at San Diego was for only four days, but during 
that time hundreds of thousands of people had an opv- 
portunity to see the ships and the men who manned 
them. 

On April i8th the sixteen white ships anchored 
within striking distance of Los Angeles, the first di- 
vision at San Pedro, the second at Long Beach, the 
third at Santa Monica, and the fourth at Redondo. 

The good people of Los Angeles did not ask the 
men to parade on shore, but they said, " Come and see 

447 



An Admiral's Log 

us and let us entertain you ! " The men went — three 
thousand five hundred of them every day — and this 
number sat down to most excellent and wonderful din- 
ners. Five thousand pounds of stall-fed beef, barbe- 
cued and served with chile con came; five hundred 
pounds of Spanish beans, three hundred pounds of 
fresh butter, hot rolls by the thousand, and two splen- 
did navel oranges for each man! This was one of the 
things Los Angeles did for the men of the fleet, and 
the ladies of the city served the meals. 

On the 5th of May I rejoined the fleet, and had the 
honour and pleasure of leading it through the Golden 
Gate on the following day. Two new battleships 
joined off the lightship on the night of the 5th, so that 
the fleet consisted of eighteen battleships, besides the 
flotilla of destroyers and the auxiliaries, when we 
steamed to our anchorage in the beautiful harbour of 
San Francisco. Words cannot describe the wonderful 
sight when this fleet was joined by the ships of the 
Pacific Fleet, under Admiral Dayton, and the whole 
force stood up the harbour, made a long, graceful turn, 
and anchored in line of squadron. 

On the 7th of May I was able to ride in the parade 
through the streets of San Francisco, escorted by the 
Salt Lake City high-school cadets, who had come a 
long distance to do me that honour. The cheering 
crowds, composed of hundreds of thousands of people 
from the country west of the Rocky Mountains, were 
most enthusiastic in their welcome and did everything 
in their power to show their appreciation of the men 
who had come fourteen thousand miles to assure them 
that they were part of the United States and would 

448 



In San Francisco 

receive the same protection in case of necessity as the 
people of the east. 

The doctors decided for me that I must relinquish 
my great command, and on May 9th my flag came 
down, and Rear-Admiral C. M. Thomas took my place. 



CHAPTER XXXIII 

ON THE RETIRED LIST 

The great fleet committed to my care had safely 
completed the first stage of its wonderful journey, and 
would complete the rest of it just as well without me 
as with me in command, but to say that I was content 
to leave it would not be telling the truth. That I had 
to relinquish command was one of the sorest disap- 
pointments of my life, and it was only at the urgent 
advice of the doctors that I did so. They warned me 
that if I continued in active service I would probably 
lose my life. 

Mr. Roosevelt had told me at Hampton Roads that 
I was to continue in command until the fleet returned 
to an Atlantic port. When it was impossible for me to 
do so, the following letter from him gave me great 
comfort: 

The White House, 
Washington, March 23, 1908. 
My dear Admiral : 

It is with very great regret that, at your own re- 
quest, I relieve you from command. You have now 
practically finished your active service in the United 
States Navy, and you have brought your long and 
honourable career, identified to a peculiar degree with 
the whole history of the Navy, to a close by an achieve- 
ment which marks the entrance of the United States 

450 



The President's Congratulations 

into the rank of naval powers of the first-class. In your 
early youth, as a young officer, you won a reputation 
for sig-nal gallantry in the Civil War. You have closed 
your career by conducting a great battle fleet from the 
North Atlantic to the North Pacific in a manner which 
has shown you to be a master of your profession. The 
fleet comes to San Francisco in better shape than when 
it left Hampton Roads — better fit for service in every 
way; and the officers and men owe no small part of 
their improvement in their profession to the mastery 
of your profession which your handling of the fleet has 
shown. 

With thanks, congratulations, and good wishes, be- 
lieve me, 

Sincerely yours, 

Theodore Roosevelt. 
Rear-Admiral Robley D. Evans, U. S. N., 
Commander-in-Chief North Atlantic Fleet, 
Care Navy Department. 

The officials of the Southern Pacific Railroad Com- 
pany and the officers of the San Francisco reception 
committee arranged for my transportation to my home, 
and the trip east was made with great comfort. My 
wife, one of my daughters, my son, and three members 
of my staff accompanied me, and the car was furnished 
with every luxury. The faithful surgeon, McDonald, 
who had cared for me on the cruise, was still with me, 
and did all that medical skill could do to relieve my 
suffering. When the train had started from Oakland 
I was told of the death of my only grandson, Robley 
Evans Sewall, son of my daughter Virginia, wife of 
Mr. Harold Sewall, of Boston. My namesake had 
been dead a week, and yet not a word or intimation of 
the sad news had been allowed to reach me because of 

451 



An Admiral's Log 

the work I had to do and for fear of its effect on me. 
How those about me managed to keep every mention 
of the child's death out of the newspapers, and above 
all how they kept smiling faces for me when • their 
hearts were breaking, may not be told here. When the 
cruel blow came the blue all went out of my sky, and it 
was my turn to face with a smile the crowds that 
cheered me on my way. That the precious young life 
around which so many hopes centred should be taken 
is one of those mysteries which may be solved in the 
world to come; certainly it never can be in this. 

At every station where the train stopped, in the 
daytime or early evening, the people gathered to wish 
me a speedy recovery and thank me for what I had 
done in taking the fleet on its long cruise. In many 
places I found that the public schools had given a holi- 
day, so that the children might have an opportunity to 
see me, and they were certainly an attractive sight as 
they gathered about my car. The bright young faces 
made my heart glad, but the most impressive thing of 
all was the fact that in every case they carried the flag 
of their country and seemed to feel the importance and 
dignity of doing so. All of these young people had 
made the mistake of giving too much credit to one man 
for the cruise of the Atlantic Fleet, and the same mis- 
take had been generally made by all the people. I did 
what I could to correct this by telling them, whenever 
I could, that one man, no matter how able and willing 
he might be, could not take one battleship anywhere, 
much less could he take sixteen ; that it had required 
the best efifort of fifteen thousand officers and men to 
bring the fleet safely from Hampton Roads to San 

452 



The Enthusiasm of the West 

Francisco, and that every one of them should have due 
credit for his work. 

As we passed through the middle west the enthusi- 
asm of the people was very marked, but as we came 
through the eastern states this gradually diminished 
until we reached Baltimore, where it was nothing. 
This was the natural result of circumstances. In the 
east naval officers and battleships are seen every day, 
and their comings and goings make little, if any, im- 
pression, but in the west this is not the case, and the 
movement of the fleet from ocean to ocean meant much 
more to the people of the country west of the Rocky 
Mountains than it did to those east of them. The peo- 
ple of the Pacific coast states had been greatly dis- 
turbed by the rumours of war with Japan, and these 
foolish rumours had spread and carried their disturb- 
ing effects to the whole country west of the Mississippi. 
When the fleet had passed the Straits of Magellan these 
rumours died at once, and when the people actually 
saw the ships and the splendid men who were ready to 
defend all Americans at any moment, they felt that we 
had saved them from a great danger, and they were 
enthusiastically grateful for it. The people of the east- 
ern states had no occasion for such a feeling, because 
no such danger, real or imaginary, ever threatened 
them. 

The enthusiasm of the people of the Pacific coast 
was caused by many things combined, but the chief rea- 
son for it was, I think, that they fully realised for the 
first time that they were as much a part of the United 
States as was any other section of the country, and that 
the power of a great government would, when neces- 
30 453 



An Admiral's Log 

sary, be exerted in their behalf. The feeling of broth- 
erhood which this brought caused them to swell with 
patriotism and to cheer for the men who wore the 
national uniform. 

As a matter of fact, there was serious danger of 
trouble with Japan until the President took the positive 
action he did to control the threatened legislative action 
of some of the Pacific coast states. Japan would never, 
in my opinion, have declared war on us until every 
peaceful means had been exhausted to redress the 
wrongs complained of by her citizens, but that she had 
strong provocation no reasonable man can deny. 
While the people of California have a right, which no 
one can question, to regulate their schools as they see 
fit, it must at the same time be evident that they have 
not the right to do anything that will interfere with 
the treaty rights given the Japanese by the United 
States government, and this is just what was threat- 
ened, if not actually done. Few foreign governments, 
or I should say the people of few foreign countries, un- 
derstand our state rights under the general govern- 
ment. This was clearly shown a few years ago when 
a number of Italian citizens were executed in New Or- 
leans. Sooner or later this same thing will cause seri- 
ous trouble with Japan unless the rights of her citizens 
are more carefully observed in our western states. A 
proud and sensitive nation, flushed with victory in one 
of the most remarkable wars of modern times, cannot 
be expected to have her citizens classed as inferior 
to those of other countries and treated as such. Yet 
this is what was proposed to be done on the Pacific 
coast. 

454 



Trade Problems of the Pacific 

If we as a nation are prepared to take the conse- 
quences, the surest remedy for the threatened trouble 
would be to forbid the entry of any Japanese into the 
United States, but this would be such a barbarous out- 
rage toward a people for whom we are in such a 
marked way responsible that I think no one will enter- 
tain the idea for a moment. Our relations with Japan 
have always been so friendly and our commerce with 
her so important that some other remedy must be 
found. We must not demand from her any rights for 
our citizens which we are not in turn willing to accord 
to hers. We always face a commercial struggle with 
her, as well as with others, for the control of the trade 
of the Pacific, and this contest will grow more and 
more bitter as time goes on. When the Congress of 
the United States grants a subsidy to American mer- 
chant ships, which it certainly must do some day, and 
American vessels begin to compete with the subsidised 
ships of other nations for the trade of the Pacific, the 
situation with Japan will become delicate and acute, 
and it will require real statesmanship on both sides to 
prevent serious trouble. It seems to be the general 
feeling that friction with Japan alone is probable over 
the question of trade control in the Pacific, but this 
does not seem reasonable to me. The Germans are 
making tremendous efforts to increase their carrying 
trade, not only in the waters bordering their own coun- 
try, but all over the world, and in considering the 
trade problems of the Pacific we must remember that 
Germany has two colonies in that ocean — one at Samoa 
and the other in the Caroline Islands — and that the ad- 
vantage she thus has will not be abandoned without a 

45S 



An Admiral's Log 

bitter struggle. Friction with her is, therefore, quite 
as likely as with Japan. 

After a comfortable passage across the continent I 
arrived at my home in Washington, where the doctors 
took a look at me and decided that I should go on leave 
for a few months to regain my health. I had lived too 
long in a steel box, and it would take time to restore 
what I had lost. Lake Mohonk, in New York State, 
seemed to offer just what I was looking for — rest, 
quiet, and good bracing air. When my leave had been 
granted I made my plan to spend the summer in that 
delightful place. 

I called on the President to pay my respects, and 
was most cordially greeted. Mr. Roosevelt assured me 
that he had done everything in his power to have me 
made a vice-admiral, but that he had failed because of 
the opposition of two members of the Senate naval com- 
mittee. I assured him that, while I should have con- 
sidered it a great honour to be commissioned a vice- 
admiral, I was not disappointed at not securing the 
honour, as I had never expected it. There had been 
much talk before I sailed from Hampton Roads that I 
would be advanced in rank before reaching San Fran- 
cisco, but I knew the members of the Senate naval 
committee, at least some of them, and I knew also the 
peculiar influence that would prevent the creation of 
the grade of vice-admiral, and I felt confident that the 
honour would never come to me. Therefore I was not 
surprised that the efforts of the President had failed. 

Admiral Dewey thought that I might be of service 
in connection with the general board, and I was ac- 
cordingly ordered to that duty, where I served until 

456 



August 1 8th, 1909 

my leave was granted, when I left Washington and 
spent the summer at Lake Mohonk. As the time for 
my retirement drew near — August i8th — the guests of 
the Lake Mohonk Mountain House decided to present 
me with a loving cup, which was done with touching 
ceremonies, I was profoundly touched by this expres- 
sion of feeling on the part of so many of my country- 
men, and in my leisure moments on the retired list I 
shall recall with pleasure their kindly words of ap- 
proval. 

In the meantime I shall always hold myself in read- 
iness to serve my country, should the occasion arise, 
either on the retired list or again in active service if 
that should be demanded of me. For forty-eight years 
my life has been at the call of the flag I love, and it will 
remain so as long as I live. 



INDEX 



Aguinaldo, 206. 
Alexieff, Admiral, 159. 
Alligator pears, 93. 
American flag in Pekin, 257. 
American-China Development Com- 
pany, 191. 
Americanism in Boston and the West , 

63- 
Americans, attitude of Filipinos 

toward, 222. 
in the navy, 345. 
Amoy, regatta at, 200. 
Annapolis, Prince Henry in, 72. 
Annapolis, the, strikes a reef, 218. 
Arethusa, water ship on Pacific 

cruise, 410. 
Argentine cruisers meet Pacific Fleet, 

432- 

Argyle, race in Hampton Roads won 
by, 361. 

Army and Navy Club at Manila, 301. 

Asiatic station. Admiral Evans as- 
sumes command of, 195. 

Barker, Rear-Admiral, relieved of 
his command, 317. 

Barnstable, trouble at, 349. 

Battenberg, Prince Louis of. See 
Prince Louis of Batten- 
berg. 

Battenberg cup, name of Argyle in- 
scribed on, 361. 



Battenberg cup, presented to Amer- 
ican squadron, 361. 
raced for, 365. 

Battle practice, 396. 

Battle target practice, 400. 

Baudissin, Admiral Count, 280. 

Bishop of Virginia, 385. 

Bliss Company of Brooklyn, 323. 

Boyd, Mr., 27. 

Boynton, General, 47. 

Bridge, Vice-Admiral Sir Cyprian 
A. C, 202. 

Bristol, Lieutenant - Commander 
Mark, 318, 323. 

Britannia at Coney Island, 357. 

Brittain, Lieutenant - Commander 
Carlos B., 131, 132, 135, 144, 
318, 382. 

Brownson, Rear-Admiral, 354, 363, 

413- 

Buck, Mr., 107. 

Buenos Ayres, visited by torpedo- 
boat flotilla, 431. 

Bunce, Rear-Admiral Francis M., 
129, 130. 

Bungao, 238. 

Bureau of Supplies and Accounts, 
408. 

Cambridge, Prince Henry at, 60. 
Camp Vickars, 229. 
' Canton-Hankow railway, 192. 



459 



An Admiral's Log 



Cape Cod Bay, target range in, 347, 

352- 
Cape Cruz, 335. 

target range at, 337. 
Cape Henry, 353. 
Carter, Governor, 292. 
Cava cava, 15. 
Cavite, 205. 

case of contractor in, 226. 
Chacabuco, as escort to Pacific Fleet, 

437- 
dinners on board, in honour of 

Pacific Fleet, 435. 
meets Pacific Fleet off Punta 
Arenas, 433. 
Chandler, Lieutenant - Commander 

Lloyd, 382, 445. 
Chapin, Lieutenant, 84, 132,135, 144. 
Chattanooga, Prince Henry at, 47. 
Chefoo, 140. 
survey at, 270. 
target practice at, 269. 
typhoon at, 271. 
Chemulpo, a neutral port, 306. 

invitation for squadron to visit, 158. 
Cheng-Chi-Tung, 186, 263, 264. 

during Boxer War, 186. 
Chesapeake Bay, defence of, 100. 
Chicago, Prince Henry in, 50. 
ball and reception to, 53. 
China Inland Mission School, Asiat- 
ic cholera in, 142. 
Chinese crew of the Gaelic, 87. 
Cholera in the Philippines, 208. 
Christians, over-zealous, 350, 
Christmas, in the West Indies, 331. 

observed by Pacific Fleet, 417. 
Chung, Prince, 263. 
Coal mines in China, 118. 
Coast defences, lack of, in United 
States, loi. 



Collins, Captain, in Civil War, 278. 
Colombo, coaling at, 308. 

jewel shops in, 309. 
Columbia at Coney Island, 357. 
Coney Island, health of King of 
England drunk at, 358. 
health of President of United 

States drunk at, 358. 
men of English squadron enter- 
tained at, 357. 
Conger, Mr., 265. 

dinner given by, 263. 
Connecticut, dinners on, 3S8. 
Constantinople, 116. 
Converse, Rear-Admiral, 30, 393. 
Cooper, Rear-Admiral, assumes com- 
mand of station at Manila^ 

307- 
in command of cruiser division, 

279, 286. 
sent to Shanghai, 303. 
Couden, Captain, 198, 216. 
Crosley, Lieutenant, 318. 
Crown Prince of Korea, 166. 
Culebra, 329, 340, 341. 

advantages of, 330. 
Customs collector at Honolulu, 288. 
Customs department, annoyances 
from, 225. 
energy of, 225. 

Dalny, 116, 159. 

civil governor of, 160. 

military governor of, 160. 

visionary scheme of, 161. 
Dancing girls in Korea, 167. 
d'Arco Valley, Count, 106. 
Davis, General George W., 220, 299. 
Davis, Rear-Admiral C. H., 331, 339. 
at Kingston, 368, 369. 
sent to Kingston, 367. 



460 



Index 



Desino, General, 268. 
Deutscher Verein, ^^. 
Deutschland, 76. 

Prince Henry's farewell dinner on, 

79- 
Dewey, Admiral, 456. 
Dinner uniform, order for, 199. 
Drake, ball given on, 360. 
Drills at Kobe, 280. 
in Subig Bay, 213. 
Duckshooting in Japan, 283. 
Duke of Abruzzi, reception given by, 

389. 

Emperor of Germany, action of, in 
the East, 117. 

and Prince Henry's reception in 
United States, 78. 
Emperor of Japan, 105, 107. 
Emperor of Korea, 165. 
Empress Dowager of China, 255. 

audience with, 260, 261. 

gifts from, 273. 
Empress of Japan, 109. 
English Naval Reserve, officers of, 

88. 
English squadron at Annapolis, 354. 
Erie, grape cultivation about, 57. 
Erin, 312. 
Evans, Lieutenant F. T., 84, 201. 

Filipinos, attitude of, toward Ameri- 
cans, 222. 

distrust of, toward Americans, 221, 

in church matters, 299. 
Finch, Captain, 87. 
Firemen on Pacific Fleet, 423. 
Fish, preparation of, in Hawaii, 92. 
Formosa, 202. 
Fort Vickars, 230. 
Fowler, Mr., 141. 



France, President of, 312. 
Francis, Governor, 44. 
Fruits of Hawaiian Islands, 92. 
Fusan, 168. 

Gaelic, the, of the O. and O. Com- 
pany, 86. 
ofiicers of, 88. 

German consideration for Americans, 
279. 

German missionary, murder of, 114. 

German navy, changing of crews in, 
121. 

German troops in China, 250. 

Germany, Emperor of. See Em- 
peror of Germany. 

Gherardi, Lieutenant W. R., 355. 

Gibraltar, 314. 

Gillett, Governor, receives Admiral 
Thomas at San Diego, 447. 

Graeme, Lieutenant, 374. 

Grant, General F. D., at James- 
town Exposition, 384. 

Grape cultivation about Erie, 57. 

Guam, governor of, 297. 
harbour at, 296. 
inhabitants of, 297. 

Guantanamo, 332, 340, 341. 

Guavas, 93. 

Guest, Past Assistant Surgeon, 143. 

Guidi, Monsignore, 299. 

Gun sights, open bar, 126. 

Hai Chi, 137. 
Hakodate, 175. 

historical interest of, 176. 
Hampton Institute, singers from, 70. 
Hampton Roads, 381. 
Hankow, 182. 
Harrison, Mayor, 52. 
Hart, Dr., iSg. 



461 



An Admiral's Logf 

o 



Harvard University, 60. 
Hawaii, labour problem in, 20. 
preparation of fish in, 92. 
sugar industry in, 22. 
Hawaiian Islands, fruits of, 92. 

trip to, 89. 
Hay, John, Secretary of State, 83. 

in Villalobos affair, 278. 
Helena, the, 182, 203, 247. 
at Newchwang, 302, 303. 
relieved from her position at 
Newchwang, 304. 
Hohenzollem, arrival of, in New 

York harbour, 30. 
Hong Kong, 242. 

fortification of, 115. 
Honolulu, 90. 

departure of Asiatic Squadron 

from, 293. 
hospitality in, 94, 292. 
orders to, 281. 
Hudgins, Lieutenant, death of, 374. 
Hughes, Commander, 217, 218. 
Huntington, Rev. Mr., 184. 

Ichang, 184. 

IngersoU, Capt. R. R., 191, 393. 

Inspector of a district, 80. 

Insurrectos, 206. 

Iron Steamboat Company, 357. 

Jackson, Sir Henry, 417. 
Jamestown Exposition, arrival of 
visiting fleets at, 383. 

opening of, 384. 

preparation for, 380. 

progress of, 387. 
Japan, Emperor of, 105, 107. 

Empress of, 109. 
Japanese crews, 103. 
Japanese labour, 21. 



Japanese thoroughness, 176. 
Japanese torpedo boats, attack of, 

on Russian fleet, 306. 
Jesselton, 240. 
J0I6, 236. 
Jones, John Paul, remains of, 

brought to America, 353. 

Kandy, a trip to, 308. 
Kaneko, Baron, 283. 
Karmany, Major, 207, 212. 
Kearsarge, accident on, 372. 
Kennedy, Captain Duncan, 371. 
Kentucky, people of, 48. 
Kentucky, the, 113, 131, 134, 135, 
138, 247. 

firing from, 214. 

visited by King of Italy, 312. 
Kingston, earthquake at, 366. 
Kioto, 245. 
Kobe, drills at, 280. 
Korea, Crown Prince of, 165. 

Emperor of, 165. 
Koritz, burning of, 306. 

"Laais," 93. 

Labour problem in Hawaii, 20. 

Lake Linao, 231. 

Langley, Mr., 181. 

Lighthouse Board, 316. 

part of Treasury Department, 81. 
Lincoln, Abraham, 52. 
Lipton, Sir Thomas, 308. 
Loeb, Secretary, 413. 
Low, Mayor Seth, 32, 38, 70. 
Lui-Kun-Yu, death of, 186. 



Mackaroff, 175. 
Madeira, coaling at, 314. 
Magdalena Bay, mail received at, 
444. 
strategic value of, 442. 
462 



Index 



Maine, the, as flagship, 320. 

consumption of coal by, 422. 
in the North River, 356. 

Malabang, 234. 
army post at, 229. 

Malacca, Straits of, torpedo-boat 
destroyers in, 307. 

Manila, American flag in, 206. 
conditions in, 20S. 
trip to, from Guam, 298. 

Manila Bay, 210, 340. 

Manzanillo, 336. 

Mar^chal, Admiral, 142, 172. 

Marines at the siege of Pekin, 254. 

Marsh, Lieutenant-Commander, 180. 

Martino, 313. 

Mason, Rear-Admiral, 323. 

Massampho, 168. 

Mayflower, leads fleet out of Hamp- 
ton Roads, 414. 

McLean, Lieutenant - Commander 
Ridley, 131, 132, 135, 144, 
157. 318, 441. 

Menemsha Bight, target practice in, 
346. 

Merritt, Assistant Paymaster William 
A, 158. 

Messina, 310. 

Metcalf, Secretary of Lighthouse 
Board, 316. 

Meteor, the, launching of, 36. 

Milwaukee, breweries of, 56. 
Prince Henry in, 55. 

Ministers, attitude of, toward Sun- 
day recreation, 350. 

Missouri, the, at Guantanamo, 

334. 
Monocacy, the, 155. 
Morgan, J. P., 69. 
Moros, trouble with, 219. 
vitality of, 235. 



Morton, Mr. Paul, Secretary of 

the Navy, 317. 
Miinsterberg, Professor, 61. 

Nagasaki, 169. 

repairs at, 279. 

Russian squadron at, 243. 
Nagoya, 245. 
Nanking, 189. 

harbour of, 190. 
Naval Academy, entertainment of 
English squadron at, 356. 

remains of John Paul Jones taken 

to, 353- 
Naval officers, government provision 

for, 407. 
Naval Secretary of Lighthouse 

Board, 80. 
Navy yards, conditions in, 402. 
Neptune visits Pacific Fleet, 419. 
New Orleans, the, 112, 113, 135. 
firing from, 214. 
inspection of, 134. 
New York City, reception of English 

squadron by, 356. 
Newberry, Assistant Secretary of the 

Navy, 402. 
Newchwang, gunboat at, 153, 303. 
Niagara Falls, Prince Henry at, 

57- 
Ninth Infantry at Pekin, 254. 
North Borneo, 239. 
Northern Squadron proceeds to 

Amoy, 196. 

Oliva, Admiral, 432. 
Olongapo, 340. 

coal depot at, 302. 

importance of, 301. 
Oneida, United States sloop-of-war, 
99. 



463 



An Admiral's Log 



Oregon, the, 268. 
Oyama, General, no. 

Pacific cruise, consultation on, 394. 

illness on, 415. 

preparations for, 395. 

publicly announced, 393. 

route of, 394. 

rumours of, 392. 

start of, 415. 

supplies for, 406. 
Pacific Fleet, anchored near Los 
Angeles, 447. 

at Port-of-Spain, 417. 

behaviour of men of, 418. 

at Punta Arenas, 433. 

at Rio de Janeiro, 428. 

at San Diego, 447. 

freedom of city given to, 447. 

at the "Line," 419. 

at Valparaiso, 438. 

at West Indies, 416. 

Christmas observed by, 417. 

departure of, from Rio de Janeiro, 

431- 

firemen on, 423. 

in harbour of San Francisco, 448. 

in Magdalena Bay, 441. 

welcomed by lieutenant - gov- 
ernor, 443. 

invited to visit Valparaiso, 437. 

mail received by, at Rio de Janeiro, 

430- 
met by Argentine cruisers, 432. 
passes through Straits of Magellan, 

436- 
reception of, at Los Angeles, 446. 

by Peruvians, 439, 440. 
reviewed by President of Chile, 

439- 
by President Penna, 431. 



Pacific Fleet, visited by Father Nep- 
tune, 419. 
Pago Pago, II, 24. 
Palace Hotel, San Francisco, 86. 
Panama Canal, 282. 
Papaya, 93. 
Pearl Harbour, 23, 
Pekin, 252. 

American flag in, 257. 

gate of, 258. 

looting of, 257. 

siege of, 255. 
Penna, President, reviews Pacific 

Fleet, 431. 
Pensacola, squadron leaves, 325. 

target practice at, 319. 
Pershing, Captain, 232. 
Philadelphia, Prince Henry in, 72. 
Pigeon Cove, mines in, 269, 
Pillsbury, Captain J. E., 318, 347, 

393- 
chart of Hampton Roads pre- 
pared by, 382. 

"Ping-pong machine," 133, 134, 199. 

Plessen, General von, 47. 

Plover, 96. 

Point Loma wireless station, 444. 

Poles in Chicago packing houses, 

54- 
Port Arthur, 115, 159. 
defences of, 269. 
hostilities at, 306. 
Poyang Lake district, trouble for 
merchants and missionaries 

in, 275- 
President of France, 312. 
President Rooseveh, 81, in. 

at Jamestown Exposition, 384, 

386. 
at target practice, 376, 377. 
congratulates Admiral Evans, 450. 



464 



Index 



President Roosevelt, desire of, to 
see Admiral Evans made vice- 
admiral, 456. 
determination of, 393. 
dines with crew of the Missouri, 

379- 
message from Japanese minister 

to, 282. 
reviews fleet before it starts on 

Pacific cruise, 412. 
Press Qub, Prince Henry the guest 

of, 69. 
Prince David, 91. 
Prince Henr>' of Prussia, arrival of, 

in New York, 30. 
at Annapolis, 72. 
at Cambridge, 60. 
at Chattanooga, 47. 
at Lincoln's tomb, 52. 
at Niagara Falls, 57. 
at the University Club, 67. 
at West Point, 72. 
entertained by Admiral Evans, 76. 
farewell dinner of, 79. 
freedom of the city of New York 

presented to, 37, 38. 
guest of the Press Club, 69. 
in Chicago, 50. 
in China, 117. 
in Milwaukee, 55. 
in Philadelphia, 72. 
in St. Louis, 44. 
in the West, 41. 

meeting of, with President Roose- 
velt, 34. 
reception of, by German societies, 

33- 

visit of, to Congress, 35. 
Prince Louis of Battenberg, 354. 

and the dentist, 360. 
Princess Irene in China, 117. 



Punta Arenas, description of, 434. 
growth of, 435. 

Railroad from Canton to Hankow, 

192. 
to Tientsin, 248. 
Rainmaker, 11. 
Rajah Brooke, 241. 
Red Sea, 310. 
Regatta at Amoy, 200. 
Regina Margarita, the, 312. 
Repair ship to accompany fleet on 

Pacific cruise, 409. 
Repairs to ships, 326. 
Rifle ranges at Tsingtao, 120. 
Rodgers, Rear-Admiral Frederick, 

82, 104. 
Roosevelt, Miss Alice, christening of 

Meteor by, 36. 
Roosevelt, President. See President 

Roosevelt. 
Rose, Mayor, 55. 
Russian fleet, attacked by Japanese 

torpedo boats, 306. 
Russian forces in Manchuria, report 

on, 266. 
Russian -French Alliance, 174. 

Sah, Captain, 137. 

St. Louis, Prince Henry in, 44. 

Samoa, natives of, 12. 

warriors of, 15. 
Sampson, Admiral, plan of mounting 

guns devised by, 141. 
Sampson-Schley controversy, court 
of inquiry in, 2. 
opinion of, 3. 
recommendation of, 5. 
Sandaken, 239, 240, 241. 
San Francisco earthquake, 338. 
Schwab, Charles M., 69. 



465 



An Admiral's Log 



Scott, Admiral Sir Percy, 136. 
Sears, Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery, 

64. 
Seoul, 163. 
"Shameen," 203. 
Shanghai, 303. 
Shaw memorial tablet, 62. 
Siassi, 237. 

Sigsbee, Admiral, 354. 
Simpson, Admiral, dinner given by, 

to ofi&cers of Pacific Fleet, 435. 

Pacific Fleet welcomed by, 434. 

Sims, Lieutenant William S., 136, 

137- 

Singapore, 241, 242. 

Skrydloff, Admiral, 172, 175. 

Smythe's Channel, survey of, 436. 

Sperry, Rear-Admiral C. S., 134. 

Stark, Admiral, 173. 

State House of Massachusetts, 62. 

Steamship trafiSc in the Pacific, 
103. 

Sterling, Rear-Admiral Yates, suc- 
ceeds to command of cruiser 
division, 307. 

Stockton, Captain, 211. 

Subig Bay, practice drills in, 210. 

Subsidy to American merchant ships, 

455- 

Sugar industry in Hawaii, 22. 

Sunday recreation, 349. 

attitude of Massachusetts legisla- 
ture toward, 351. 

Swettenham, Governor, 367. 

Taft, Governor, 207, 299. 

ability of, 224. 
Taku, gunboat maintained at, 153. 
Taku bar, 247. 

Target practice at Chefoo, 269. 
at Guantanamo, 333. 



Target practice, in Magdalena Bay, 
441. 
won by North Atlantic Squadron, 

371- 
Target range at Cape Cruz, 337. 

in Cape Cod Bay, 347, 352. 
Taussig, Commander, 294. 
Tawi-Tawi Islands, 220, 237. 
Thomas, Admiral, 428, 446. 
Tientsin, 248. 

Tirpitz, Admiral von, 42, 68. 
Togo, Admiral, 169. 
Torpedo-boat test, 214, 215. 
Torpedo practice, order for, 197. 
Trade problems of the Pacific, 

455- 
Trans-Siberian Railroad, 162. 
Tsingtao, 113, 117. 
Typhoon at Chefoo, 271. 

United States Marine Corps, 206. 
University Club, Prince Henry at, 

67. 
Prince Henry entertained by 

Admiral Evans at, 76. 
University men of America, 68. 

Variag, the, in Japanese-Russian 
War, 305. 
sinking of, 306. 
Viceroy at Canton, 204. 
Vicksburg, the, at Chemulpo, 302. 
Villalobos, the, in Poyang Lake dis- 
trict, 275. 
report to Navy Department con- 
cerning, 277. 
Vladivostock, 115, 170. 

reception of squadron at, 170. 



Wakes Island, 293. 
Wallace, Colonel, 237. 
466 



^*JL 151949 



Index 



War College, 326. 

plans of, tested, 370. 
Washington, Booker T., 70, 233. 
West Indies, trip to, 328. 
West Point, Prince Henry at, 72. 
Whipple, the, at Kingston, 367. 
"White Messengers of Peace," 427. 
Wilkes, Captain, in Civil War, 

278. 
Wilkie, Chief, of Secret Service, 

28. 
Wireless message off Cape Virgin, 

433- 
Wireless messages to and from Ar- 
gentine Republic, 432. 



Wives of officers, 271. 
Wuchang, 185. 
Wuhu, 189. 
Wusung, 178. 

Yale football player in Honolulu, 293. 
Yamamoto, Vice-Admiral Baron, 

no. 
Yellow, the royal Chinese colour, 

258. 
Yokohama, 99. 
changes in, 102. 
docking ships at, 281. 

Zafiro, the, 227, 241. 



(1) 



THE END 



Wjf n 16 1910 



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